The Tomuraigassen Tournament
by Gemini Star01
Summary: Chapter 13: Kurama and Misato take on the otter-demon Harumi in thier 5-on-5 Battle Royale. But the otter is slipperier than she looks, using her flute to charm them both into thier worst nightmares...
1. Gathering Forces

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August 1, 2003 - Okay…FF.Net staff didn't seam to notice that I'd actually started the story behind the whole form thing, so they pulled it off. So I've put it back up, just without the form thingy. Just remember that your character still has a chance to die, so don't get mad at me if they do. Chapter 3 should be up tomorrow or the next day…K? Okay!

It's the day you've all been waiting for! After signing up, groaning in frustration as FF.Net went into renovation, and putting up with me and my relentless demand for more details character-wise, the Tomuraigassen Tournament has finally begun! Thank you to everyone who submitted members for the teams, especially Team Koumajutsu! (took forever to get that evil team finished…) 

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Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho. For that matter, I don't own any of the combatants in this story except Misato and Luna, who should be the only ones to show up in this chapter.

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The Tomuraigassen Tournament

Chapter 1: Gathering Forces

"Okay, Botan, what're we doin' here?!" Yusuke demanded. He and the other four were dressed in their usual tournament clothes, following the guide down the brightly lit hallway of Tokyo International. "You said we were going to a tournament!"

"We are, Yusuke!" Botan laughed, tossing her blue hair back over her shoulder. 

"Then why, may I inquire, are we at the airport?" Kurama asked calmly. "I don't believe they sell flights to Reikai."

"We'll be off in a bit." Botan muttered, reading the gate signs as they passed by. "Oh, darn it, she's been here fifteen minutes now…"

"Who's been here?" Kuwabara asked, pulling his bag back over his shoulder.

"Your fifth member, of course!" Botan smiled, looking around. "Wherever she is…"

"'She'?" Hiei scoffed. He didn't like being surrounded by so many humans, that was for sure. "Don't tell me our fifth fighter is a female."

"Woah woah woah!" Kuwabara exclaimed. "You mean we're fighting with a _girl_?!"

"I'm gonna have agree with Kuwabara on this one, Botan." Yusuke looked a bit insulted. "I mean, Genkai was one thing, but do you really expect us to fight with a girl we've never met? How's she gonna measure up?"

"You shouldn't underestimate her, Yusuke." Botan chastised. "She's a Spirit Detective, just like you."

"A Spirit Detective?" the group stopped when they heard that. Kurama was the one who had spoken, and his look of surprise was mirrored in the other three boy's faces.

"Well, of course!" Botan smiled. "You don't think one Detective could handle the whole world, now do you? She was born in raised here in Japan, but at her own request was transferred to America."

"So why is it we've never met before?" Yusuke asked, confused.

"Because you're based on opposite sides of the Earth, Yusuke." Botan sighed. "Normally, since this tournament is staged in your area of Reikai…your 'turf', if you want…You'd be the one handling this case. But since you do need a fifth member, and this is kind of a personal fight for her, she's been flown over to help out."

"Personal fight?" Hiei muttered.

"Apparently she's got a bone to pick with the demon we're after." Botan shrugged. "Besides, she's the only one who knows what this Akki Kaijuu looks like…" 

"Botan! Is that you?"

The group looked up at an obviously female voice. Standing in the rapidly clearing hallway was a smiling girl about the same height and build as Botan, just an inch taller. Half of her golden-blonde hair fell down around her face to just under her ears, while the rest was much longer and hung down her back in a long braid that reached about as far as her waist. A pair of thin purple sunglasses concealed her eyes for the moment. She was dressed in a skin-tight, long-sleeved white shirt, over which she had a pale purple hooded sweat shirt, halfway unzipped with three-quarter-length sleeves, all over dark blue jeans that flared over white tennis shoes. There was a dark purple backpack over one shoulder, and a white-silver ring on her left hand.

"Misato! There you are!" Botan exclaimed, waving as the girl hurried over. She pronounced the name, very clearly, as Me-SA-toe. 

Misato was giving a very wild grin as she pulled off her sunglasses, reveling eyes that were a crystal clear blue. "About time we found you!" she laughed jokingly. Her voice had a slightly European accent to it, like Kurama's, just a bit less mature, and her tone reminded Yusuke more of Jin the wind master. "I was starting to think you'd left without us!"

"'Us'?" Botan asked. "Who's 'us'?"

"Hang on." Misato turned back, looking around, then called into the crowd. "Luna! Luna, over here!"

"Luna?" Yusuke asked as Botan made a bit of a disbelieving face. "Who's Luna?"

He got his answer almost immediately. Another girl was coming towards them, eyes focused on Misato. She was taller, maybe about Kurama's height, and built with more muscle. Her hair was longer as well, down to her waist and very messy, though the top was hidden under a backwards blue baseball cap. She wore a short-sleeved blue t-shirt, a black leather jacket tied around her waist, and faded black jeans that were tucked into ankle-high, laced up black leather boots. Her glaring eyes were a startlingly bright amethyst purple, and her skin was very pale.

"Misato." Botan groaned, confused. "How did you bring Luna along? Koenma only sent you one ticket…"

"Oh, that doesn't matter!" Misato laughed. "I had a bit saved up from our last purse, so I bought hers myself. Besides, we're partners!"

"Yes, but…" Botan looked hassled. "There's only one spot open on the team…"

"No problem." Misato grinned. "From the reports I've read, we're gonna need an alternate sooner or later, even if it is only for one round."

The other girl, Luna, coughed a bit to get her friend's attention. "I'll take it, then, that this is the 'team'?" she asked quietly. Her voice was deep and low, disturbingly similar to a female Hiei with a hint of Kuwabara's sister, Shizuru.

"Yes…" Botan muttered, obviously still a little peeved at the girl's presence.

"Hm…" Misato joined Luna in looking the boys over. She closed her eyes a moment, like she was thinking. "From your spirit energy, only you two are really human." she said calmly, turning to Yusuke and Kuwabara. "Which one of your is Yusuke Urameshi?"

"Uh…me." Yusuke muttered, and was surprised when she suddenly grasped his hand in both of hers with an excited grin.

"Pleased to meet you, Urameshi." she laughed. "My name's Misato Itoshigo. I've read about all of your cases in detail, and I must say I'm very impressed."

"Wow…" Yusuke grinned, enjoying the attention. "Hey, thanks!"

"Hmph." Luna tossed her hair back. "Then the other human must be Kuwabara."

"Yeah, that's me." Kuwabara seamed expectant of the same kind of reaction, but both girls just brushed him off like dandruff.

"Which means you two must be the infamous Hiei and Kurama." Misato cocked her head a moment, then smiled as she offered her hand to Kurama. "Nice to meet you."

"A pleasure." Kurama smiled and shook her hand. Luna and Hiei looked each other up and down, then turned their heads to the side with an almost identical mutter of hello.

"Don't mind Luna." Misato laughed with a side-glance to her friend. "She's always a little edgy until you get to know her."

"I'm wondering…" Kurama looked very curious. "How is that you know our names? Or about the cases, for that matter?"

"Oh…" Misato got a mischievous grin on her face that _really_ reminded the guys of Jin as she leaned in to whisper. "I tell Koenma I'm researching whatever demon I'm after, he gives me full access to all the records."

"Ah." Kurama made a mental note to try that trick next after they closed this case.

"Well then." Misato put a hand on her hip, pulling on the strap of her bag. "Are we ready to set off then, Botan?"

The ferry girl sighed with exaggerated annoyance, then lead the team of six out of the airport and into the woods.

~ * ~ * ~

"Koenma, sir…" George the Oni muttered, looking at the screen. "Are you sure this is wise?"

"Wise or not, I didn't have a choice." Koenma muttered, putting his head on the desk. "I would have preferred to pick a fifth member on my own, but Misato was so insistent it made me scared to refuse."

"Sir, you're afraid of that girl?" George seamed shock.

"About as much as Yusuke." Koenma looked up at the screen, where the seven teenagers were now shrouded in darkness as they stumbled through the forest on the way to their Reikai port. "They're the same way…Misato listens to reason a bit more, but if you get her mad she can be deadly!"

~ * ~ * ~

As the sun went down and the moon started to rise, Yusuke and the others were still trekking through the woods. They were having their own conversations amongst themselves as Botan lead the way.

Misato suddenly dropped back from her conversation with Kurama to slide next to Luna's side. "Well?" she prompted, smiling mischievously again. "Whattya think of the guys?"

"They're strong enough." Luna muttered. "Obviously clever, with an impressive reputation…and the redhead's kinda cute."

Misato stared a moment, unsure whether her partner was serious or not, then a smile cracked over her lips before they both burst into a fit of giggles. Luna stopped after a moment though, casting her eyes downward with a tired little breath. Misato's eyes filled with worry.

"Hey…You doin' okay?"

"A little tired, that's all." Luna sighed. "The moon's covered, so there isn't much problem…Are we far enough yet?"

"I supposed we must be." Misato suddenly called up. "Hey Botan! How far are we from human eyes?"

"At least three miles by now." Botan shouted back.

"Okay, you're clear." Misato grinned.

"Good." Luna began to untie the jacket around her waist. "About time…I'm starting to get cold."

She pulled the black leather jacket around her, adjusting it just the way she liked it before pulling off her hat. Kuwabara looked up just in time to spot the long, black, bushy tail and see the two little ears twitch on the top of her head.

"What the-?!" he screamed.

The group stopped. "What's your problem, Kuwabara?" Yusuke demanded.

"Urameshi, this chick's got a tail!" Kuwabara exclaimed, pointing wildly. "And… And look at her ears! They look like Kurama's when he's that freaky fox thing!"

"Not exactly." Misato laughed. "Calm down, Kuwabara. Luna's a wolf demon. We had to cover up some of her more…noticeable features on the plane, but it's nothing dangerous. At least…not unless you get her mad."

"I thought there was something different about you." Kurama smiled.

Botan, checking a sort of map as she went, suddenly ran forward up a hill. The others stared at her as she stood at the top, looking out, then turned to call back. "Hurry up! I can see the lights from the ship!"

The rest of them hurried up after her. Hiei, of course, was first, though quickly followed by Luna, the Kurama, Misato, Yusuke and finally Kuwabara. Yes, there was the lights of a large cruise ship…better than a tanker, but not something you'd want to take a vacation on…as well as the flashes of several camp fires.

"Wow…So that's the place, huh?" Kuwabara asked, looking it all over.

"Yup." Botan nodded, oar suddenly in hand. "You six can make it from here. I've got to go pick up Keiko, Shizuru and Yukina. We'll meet you there."

"WHAT?! The girls are coming?!" Yusuke exclaimed.

"Well, of course, Yusuke!" Botan sighed, mounting the oar and hovering for a moment in the air. "Yukina's worried that one of you will get hurt, and do you really think that Keiko and Shizuru are going to trust you boys out on your own?"

"But…"

"No buts, they won't refuse!" Botan laughed, soaring into the air. "We'll see you there!"

Yusuke stared after her a moment, then lowered his head with a defeated sigh. Misato and Luna continued to look into the sky. "Luna?" Misato final wondered out loud. "What was she talking about?"

"Well…Yukina was the Ice Apparition they rescued during the Toguro brothers incident, wasn't she?" Luna obviously already knew the answer to her own question as the two girls lowered their heads to look at each other. "However, Keiko and Shizuru have me stumped."

"Shizuru's my sister." Kuwabara muttered as they started down the hill.

"Ah." Misato nodded. "And Keiko?"

"Yusuke's girlfriend." Kurama smiled. Yusuke made a bit of a face, but said nothing. It was obvious to everyone that they'd been going out for a while now, there was no use denying it.

"Enough babble." Hiei muttered tersely. "I'm going down to the ship. Are the rest of you coming?"

"Coming, coming!" and as a group, the six fighters started down the hill and toward the lights reflecting on dark water.

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A/N: Interesting, no? Whattya think of Misato and Luna? They're the reason I decided to write this story, you know.

The next chapter will introduce Akki Kaijuu, but his team (Team Koumajutsu) will be introduced trough out the later chapters. I think I may introduce the first opponents (Team Sougen) in the next chapter too, but the fighting won't start at least until chapter 3. I'm actually having fun with this! Be sure to review!


	2. The Case Subject, Akki Kaijuu

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Okay, people…It is currently 11:33 PM here…I don't know why I'm staying up this late. For all I know I'll be here 'til my dad leaves for Houston at 5:30. Why? I dunno…I just can't stop writing tonight…

Look here, the first meeting with Akki Kaijuu! He's the bad guy, get to know him. Also, if you're the creator of one of these fighter characters and you're making a change to their personalities/reasons to fight, please include the name of the character when you e-mail/review.

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Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Yu Yu Hakusho characters. I do, however, own Misato, Luna, and Akki Kaijuu. Kaz and Nabooru (shown but unnamed) belong to their respective owners.

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The Tomuraigassen Tournament

Chapter 2: The Case Subject, Akki Kaijuu

"Hn. Not bad."

Hiei was glancing around the small cabin the team had been provided with, standing on top of one of the bunk beds. After a small argument with the demon who was checking the members of the teams in over whether Luna could enter with them (he saw reason when Misato threatened to wring his neck) they'd been escorted to a tiny room at the very end of the ship.

"Better than last time, that's for sure." Yusuke was stretched out on the top of a second set of bunk beds. There were two of these in the room, pushed up against opposite walls, with a single bed in the back.

As soon as they got in the girls claimed the single bed. That left the boys to divvy up the two bunk beds, finally deciding that Yusuke and Kuwabara would take one set, while Hiei and Kurama took the other. Everything was painted plain gray, with black sheets and bedclothes, all and all pretty grimy-looking, but at least it was somewhere to sleep.

"Hey." Kuwabara looked around from his place next to the door. "Where'd the girls go?"

"I believe Misato said they were going to explore the ship." Kurama muttered calmly. He was sitting on his bunk, cross-legged, with a book of demons and their various fighting patterns open on his lap. Botan had 'nicked it for him from the records library, and he was studying it very carefully.

"What, without us?" Yusuke asked, sitting up and almost hitting his head on the roof.

"Isn't that a little dangerous?" Kuwabara asked. "I mean, can a couple of girls stand up against those demons?"

"I heard that, Kuwabaka." the boys looked up, a little surprised, at Misato, who was leaning against the edge of the doorway and looking very annoyed. Luna was standing behind her, ears twitching and eyes narrowed so she looked equally angry at Kuwabara's comment.

"Uh…Hi…Girls…" Kuwabara said shakily. Yusuke and Hiei were taking a kind of disturbing interest in what the girls were gonna do to him, while Kurama merely leaned back against the wall to avoid any splatter.

"Five missions." Misato said simply, holding up one hand.

The boys blinked at her. "What?"

"I have complete five missions before coming to this tournament." Misato said slowly. "That's two more than Urameshi had down before _his_ first tournament. And Luna's been along with me on four of those. So don't write us down, just 'cause we're girls."

"Not to mention…" Luna's ears twitched in annoyance. "It seams that many of our opponents in this tournament are female, so you might want to watch the gender discrimination on this ship."

"You got that?" Misato cracked her knuckles menacingly.

"Y-Yes ma'ams." Kuwabara stuttered, creeping back. Yusuke had to muffle insane laughter, burring his face in the pillow to keep from letting the others know.

"Good." Misato's face suddenly spread into a smile. "Now how 'bout we get a little food? They've got a kinda bar at the end of the boat, it's free for fighters and looks like it serves dinner…"

"A bar?" Yusuke sat up, eyes still tearing from laughter. "I'm game!"

"Yeah, me too!" Kuwabara exclaimed, partially excited about the food and partially trying to stay on their female member's good sides.

"Sounds good." Kurama shrugged, closing his book and replacing it carefully back in his bag as he stood. "Coming, Hiei?"

"Hn." the fire demon muttered, but followed along anyway.

"Hey, Misato." Yusuke suddenly spoke up as the group walked down the almost-empty side deck. "I've been meaning to ask you something."

"What?"

"When you became a Spirit Detective, did'ja have to…you know…Die?" Yusuke sounded curious, but he was playing dumb with his hands stuffed in his pockets like he really didn't care.

"Yeah, actually, I did." Misato smiled a bit, her eyes glazed over in remembrance. "You too?"

"Yeah!" Yusuke felt a bit relieved that he wasn't the only one. "Saved some little kid from a car. How'd it happen for you?"

"Oh…" Misato kicked something on the deck with one foot. "Well, see, there was this little girl I was friends with back home…she was about seven or so…and one day I was walking past the river when I saw her fall in. I jumped in to save her, but my foot got caught in the reeds after I did. They pulled me out right after I drowned."

"Ouch." Yusuke grimaced. Being hit by a car may have hurt, but at least it'd been quick. "So your family took care of your body 'til you could come back?"

Misato looked down, not saying anything. Luna gave Yusuke a sideways glance. "I don't think we need to get that personal just yet." she growled.

"No…Luna, it's okay." Misato said quietly, stopping to look up at Yusuke. "If you wanna know the truth…I'm an orphan. I really don't have any family."

Yusuke gulped as Kuwabara turned blue in the face. Kurama's eyes reflected in his own kind of concern, while Hiei just muttered his usual response and turned his head the other way.

"I'm, ah…sorry I brought it up." Yusuke stuttered out, looking nervous.

"It's nothing." Misato put on a fake smile, trying to reassure everyone. "Really… My parents have been dead for years, it really doesn't bother me much anymore. I was living at an orphanage in Sapporo when it happened."

"So, uh…" Yusuke muttered. "If you don't…have any family…who took care of your body?"

"Actually…" Misato looked a little better. "I managed to possess a girl at the orphanage and stashed my body in this abandoned construction site no one ever went too. Two months later I was back and on a plane to America."

"That's right." Kurama spoke up from the back. "Botan said you asked to be relocated. But if you are native to Sapporo, why be moved to America?"

"That's my own business." Misato snapped, suddenly annoyed as she slide her sunglasses back on. "And I will thank you to keep out of it."

The boys blinked, but shrugged it off and decided to continue walking. Soon the conversation slipped to home life, and from that to schoolwork. "Kurama, I can not believe you sometimes."

"It's only Trigonometry, Yusuke." the red head laughed, after explaining his advanced class schedule.

"Yeah, but that puts you like, what, two grades ahead?" Yusuke groaned. "Between that and these cases…how do you take it?"

"I don't understand why you bother with those ridiculous classes in the first place, Kurama." Hiei muttered from the back. "What use is 'math' to a demon?"

"Good question." Luna muttered.

She suddenly stopped. Misato froze in her tracks and both were glaring straight ahead. The boys stopped and looked at them when they realized they'd left them behind. "What's the matter?" Kuwabara asked.

Misato pulled off her sunglasses, pointing past them. They turned around to find three figures walking towards them, and almost immediately they could feel the aura of darkness around them.

The first, on the left, looked pretty much like a normal human boy, maybe 16 years old. He was tall, maybe 5'11", with brown hair and eyes. He was dressed in simple shorts and a t-shirt, and had a ring on each finger with a long sword at his side. On the far right was a girl, with red hair and strangely golden eyes. She was also unusually tall, she towered over the whole Urameshi Team but Kuwabara, so she was just over six foot. She wore what seamed to be a low-cut white robe straight out of a picture of Venus, the kind with the V-shaped collar that showed more than it covered and had a high cut up the leg.

But neither of them had even half of the dark energy radiating off the one in the middle. Physically, though, he looked like the weakest of them He was small, not quite as small as Hiei or Misato, but about Yusuke's size, only rather scrawny. His skin was pale and his hair was shoulder-length and black. He was dressed in…a suit. Yes, a suit, a completely black suit, with a black sports coat over a black silk shirt and black slacks. His eyes were horribly dark, like deep holes that never ended, and he was smiling a very creepy kind of smile.

"I'll take it that's our guy…" Yusuke whispered.

"Yeah…" Misato's eyes were narrowed. "Kaijuu…"

"Which one? The big guy on the left?" Kuwabara asked.

"No, you idiot, the one in the center." Hiei hissed.

"What?! You mean all that energy's comin' from _him_?!"

"I thought you were supposed to be Spiritually Aware." Yusuke muttered under his breath.

"I am!" Kuwabara exclaimed. "It's just hard to tell when they're so close together like that!"

"Be quiet, you fool." Luna and Hiei whispered at the same time.

The center one was walking with his hands stuffed in his pockets, smiling as he went. He paused for a moment in front of the Urameshi team, then turned to Misato with a sly smile. "Well, well, well. If it isn't Misato Itoshigo."

"Akki Kaijuu." Misato sneered.

"Why the look, detective?" Kaijuu asked, lifting a hand to her cheek. He hand long, strong-looking, pale-skinned fingers with well-manicured nails that looked like claws, and he was running them up the edge of her face to her ear. "It's a shame to ruin such a lovely set of features."

"Get your hands off her." Luna growled, snatching Kaijuu's hand away from Misato.

"So tense, Mangetsu." Kaijuu laughed, pulling his arm out of her grasp. "Is a full moon on its way, Wolfie?"

"Watch it, bub." Yusuke growled. Already he had a distaste for this…creature.

Kaijuu turned his eyes curiously to the human, then his face stretched into another grin. "Ah…You must be Spirit Detective Yusuke Urameshi." he laughed. "Your reputation precedes you. Rando, Suzaku _and_ Toguro? Pretty high-ranking opponents you've struck down."

"Of course…" the female on his right smiled. "They're all nothing compared to us, Akki."

"Of course." Kaijuu laughed. "Well…we must be going, then. So long."

The team parted and let the three go through. As they left Kaijuu turned back. "Oh, an Misato?" he grinned that creepy grin again. "See you at the competition."

"'See you at the competition.'" Misato mocked at his back, rolling up her sleeves. "I'll give you competition you sick, disgusting little…"

"Misato…" Luna warned as she and Kurama held her back. "Save it for the ring."

"Yeah. The ring." Misato spat, throwing her braid back in disgust. She spun on her heels and stormed off towards the bar, and you could practically see the steam rolling out of her ears.

".…She has quite a temper." Kurama commented as she stomped away.

"Yes." Luna sighed, brushing her bangs back. "But with Kaijuu I understand perfectly."

"Yeah?" Kuwabara asked as they started after her. "Whattya you two have against the guy, besides bein' freaky and all?"

Luna didn't answer for a moment, then she sighed again, stuffed her hands into the pockets of her black jeans, and gave Kuwabara a sideways glance from under her bangs. "Don't ask stupid questions."

With that, she turned and headed down after her partner.

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Okay, so I lied. Sad (our MC and announcer for this tournament) will show up in the next chapter, as well as Team Sougen, but the fighting won't start 'til Chapter 4. Also, for those of you who didn't notice/forgot/didn't read the team listings, Mangetsu is Luna's last name. K? Next chapter should be up either tomorrow or the next day…But I'm also trying to work on some of my Digimon fics (I've kinda been neglecting them…-_-; …Bad GS…Bad…)

'Til next time…

*~GS~*


	3. Rules and Team Sougen

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Okay, this time we actually get to see the announcer/MC for this tournament, not to mention a strange encounter with the first opponents. But I promise_ the fighting will begin in the very next chapter! I PROMISE. (The beginning of this chapter's a little lame. It picks up when Ki-Rokey appears)_

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Disclaimer: I don't own any of the original Yu Yu Hakusho characters. Sad is really SadSaturn, a very unique writer with a strange sense of humor, while Sayona, Rai and Ki-Rokey belong to their various owners. However, Misato, Luna, Kin and Anbu belong to me. (Yes Kin and Anbu are of my creation. I didn't get all the ideas from other people)

P.S. - I know Kuwabara finds out about Yukina sooner or later, so that's how it is.

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The Tomuraigassen Tournament

Chapter 3: Rules and Team Sougen

Luna stirred early the next morning, rubbing her eyes and yawning. She didn't need to sit up, she already was. Without the correct number of beds, she'd fallen asleep propped up against Misato's bed, arms crossed over her chest and legs crossed.

Sunlight was peaking in under the door as she climbed to her feet. Given lack of space to change and the girl's willingness to do so, they'd mostly gone to bed fully dressed, simply shedding an outer layer for the nighttime warmth. Misato's sweatshirt was neatly folded at the end of her bed, as was Kurama's outer tunic. Kuwabara and Yusuke had both messily tossed their jackets into opposite corners.

Luna glanced down at the beds. Misato and was still curled up in a ball under her covers. Yusuke was splayed out on his back, snoring away, while Kuwabara was in a similar pose on his side. Kurama had the bottom bunk across from Kuwabara's, and was currently pressed with his back against the wall, hair falling into his face. A rather defensive and very demon-like stance, attacks could only come from one side. Hiei seamed to prefer leaning against the wall, ready to run or fight if need be, sitting straight up, with legs crossed and arms behind his head.

Luna smiled, just a bit, running her fingers momentarily through Misato's loose bangs. Then she noticed the light coming from under the door and stood to examine what was happening outside.

She came back in a moment later, snatched up Kuwabara's pillow from the floor and hit Yusuke in the face with it. The male Spirit Detective sat up with a start. "Wha-?!" he asked stupidly, and shaking the others all out of their slumber.

"Get up!" Luna shouted, loud enough to wake the ones who'd managed to sleep through Yusuke's outburst. "Come on, wake up!"

Hiei opened his eyes immediately, looking a bit perturbed. Kurama's eyes flew open and he brushed his hair away as he sat up. Kuwabara leapt a foot in the air and hit his head on the bottom of Yusuke's bunk. Misato sat up, blinked at her partner, then yawned as she stretched for the ceiling.

"What's with you, Luna?" she asked in mid-yawn.

"We over-slept, that's what!" the wolf demon snapped, ears twitching as she yanked Kuwabara out of bed by his collar. "The boat's pulling into the island's harbor now!"

_That _got the group moving. Five minutes later they were fully-dressed and staring out over the water at the island as they approached. It was lush and green with grass atop high, ragged cliffs in a shape that pointed out, then in again, like a W. "So that's the place, huh?" Yusuke muttered.

"Pretty dismal." Hiei muttered.

"Such an odd shape." Kurama noted the high cliffs as they pulled in. "What is this place called again?"

"Kyuuketsuki Island." Luna sighed.

"Ah." Kurama nodded. Good name. From the air this place would probably look just like a bat.

"…" was all Misato could muster. She was staring down into the water, gazing half-heartedly at her reflection, lost in thought. Luna glanced over at her partner in concern, and Yusuke followed her gaze after a moment.

"You okay?" he finally asked her.

Misato shook her head like she was shaking water out of her ears. "A little nervous, I guess." she finally sighed. "This isn't gonna be easy."

"Don't worry about it." Yusuke crossed his arms over his chest. "We'll take 'em all down, no problem."

A short, dark-clothed figure watched them from the shadows, chuckling to himself as he heard Yusuke's comment. "Don't give the girl false hope, Urameshi." he muttered to himself. "Akki Kaijuu may very well be your end."

~ * ~ * ~

"People, people, please! Calm down! Once everyone's seated we'll get started!"

The team glanced around. There were dozens of black seats around them, slowly filling with whatever spectators who were interested in the rules, which was definitely not as many as who would be there for the fights.

"I believe team seating is down there." Kurama muttered, pointing at sixteen small clusters of five to six seats down right next to the stage.

"Nice crowd." Misato growled as a blue demon with pointy horns lashed out at her, hissing insults about human girls. "I'm guessing we won't be fighting here."

"This place is completely black." Kuwabara muttered. "Bedrooms and all, it's creepy…"

The others had to nod. It was early evening, they'd already been given their suite and been able to clean up, but the room was just as Kuwabara had said. The wallpaper was white background, spotted with midnight black bats. The drapes were black, the four beds were black, with gray sheets and black covers, the carpet was black and the furniture ranged from light gray to as black as the curtains.

The Urameshi team took the final group seats at the very end of the row, getting lots of frighteningly curious looks from the other 15 teams. They took a seat just as the MC climbed on-stage, commanding silence.

The MC looked like a normal human girl, but knowing this crowd that probably wasn't saying much. Her hair was dark, dark brown, braided like Misato's, just a little looser and dark brown eyes glared over the crowd. She was dressed in a dark blue, long-sleeved, button-up shirt with a medium blue t-shirt poking up from underneath, black jeans and gray-ish purple shoes. She gripped her microphone in one had and coughed loudly, and moments later the place quieted.

"Evening, ladies and gentlemen, humans and demons alike." she said calmly, glaring around at them. "My name is Sad, I'll be the MC and ref for this year's Tomuraigassen Tournament."

"The announcer's name is Sad." Luna rolled her eyes. "This tournament's looking up to be a bundle of laughs."

"All the fighting and bloodshed any of you could ever ask for will be starting tomorrow." Sad said crisply, no smile crossing her lips but an odd gleam in her eyes. "But there are a few details we need to work out first." a crowd of boos and hisses filled the room. "Quiet down, all of you."

"First of all, general rules. The four rounds of the Tomuraigassen Tournament have a set fighting style. The first round of fighting will be set as one-on-one, straight fighting. Once you enter the ring, you can't leave until you've either been killed, disqualified, or otherwise lost and/or given up fighting. Once you've left the ring, you are not allowed to return for the duration of the round. First team to eliminate all their opponents, or to get five consecutive wins, will win the match."

"Round two." Luna leaned against her hand, Yusuke and Kuwabara leaned back with a sigh, Misato's eyes began to glaze over, Hiei mumbled something about stupid tournament girls, and Kurama simply brushed his hair back and pulled his demon book back out. It's just that there was no real reason to pay attention.

"Round two." Sad cleared her throat. "Is a five-on-five battle royale. At least those five members of the team must be present at the beginning of the round, or your team will be disqualified. At the end of the round, the team with at least one man left standing wins the match.

"The semi-finals and final round will be simple one-on-one, best of three fights. Whichever team survives all these fights will be the winners, awarded with one team prize of anything money can buy, as well as an individual purse of 100,000,000 Yen _(A/N-That's about $1,000,000 American) _for each surviving fighter on the winning team."

"Now…" she pause a moment for dramatic effect. "The team match ups for the first round of the tournament!"

_That_ got everyone's attention. The lights dimmed and the tournament screen lit up with a chart showing the lineups. The eight bottom brackets were separated into 2 groups of 4, listing the two days the first round would take.

"Tomorrow's first match will be Team Urameshi vs. Team Sougen!" Sad exclaimed into the mic, reading the board out-loud. "The second match is Team Takitsubo vs. Team Meshiu! Match three…"

"Looks like we're first up." Kuwabara muttered as the MC continued with her banter. 

"Yes…But which team is that freak on?" Hiei hissed grumpily. "I certainly don't see a 'Team Kaijuu' listed."

"That's them." Luna whispered, pointing at a name second to last on the list, only one from being the farthest from their listing. "Team Koumajutsu."

"Hm…" Kurama sighed. "It seams we might have our work cut out for us."

"Better than last time." Kuwabara grunted. "We won't hafta fight all in a bunch like last time."

"Hopefully." Kurama sighed.

"That's the line-up for the first round!" Sad announced as the lights came back on and the screen cleared. "Now everyone has the rest of the night to rest up, plan your strategy, or pray desperately for your mortal souls. Enjoy your night!"

"Well…That was a waste of time." Yusuke rolled his eyes as the crowd left.

"What now?" Misato asked, standing. "No fights 'til tomorrow…hopefully."

"Perhaps we should find out about this Team Sougen ahead of time." Kurama said quietly. "It would be good to know what we're up against."

Luna's ears perked up suddenly and turned to the right in a confused gesture. "Hiei…" she said quietly, bemused. "I think someone's calling you over there."

"What?" Hiei narrowed his eyes in the direction she was pointing. Kurama turned his ears in the same way as Hiei's face paled with a gulp. "Oh dear…"

"Hiei-chan!"

Something black and white, even smaller than Hiei, suddenly zipped forward and had the fire demon fighter in a tight hug around the neck. Hiei turned red in the face as Kuwabara and Yusuke burst into wild laughter, and Kurama, Luna and Misato muffled theirs in various different ways.

"Ki-Rokey…" Hiei growled angrily, prying the figure off him. "What. Are. You. Doing. Here?"

The black shape stepped back, laughing, and at first glance seamed to be a much smaller Hiei. With a closer look, it was actually young girl, though hard to tell what age she was, with shoulder-length black hair streaked with white lines. Her eyes were red, a more of a bright crimson than Hiei's red wine, but the same tanned skin. She was wearing an outfit similar to Misato's, a white hoodie over a light blue t-shirt and blue jeans.

"Thought I felt your energy on the boat, Hiei-chan!" she laughed, rocking from heel to toe with a wide smile and her hands behind her back. "This is great! I hoped you might be fighting in this tournament!"

"You…know this little demon, Hiei?" Kurama asked, hiding an amused smile behind his hand to stifle the laughter.

"She's a friend of Yukina's…" Hiei mumbled, looking ready to kill all of them. "Ki-Rokey…a fire demon…"

"That's me!" the girl flashed them a V-for-Victory sign wave.

"I'll ask you again." Hiei growled sourly. "Why are you here? Watching the tournament?"

"Oh, give me a _little_ more credit than that!" Ki-Rokey giggled, reaching into the right-hand pocket of her sweatshirt and pulling out a bright red card. "I'm fighting in tournament! I'm on Team Sougen!"

"Sougen, eh?" Luna sighed. "Our first opponents tomorrow."

"If I remember correctly, Ki-Rokey, you find it difficult to hold your own even in normal fights." Hiei scoffed, looking down at his adoring little fan. "What makes you think you can handle this tournament?"

"Hey!" the tiny demon snapped. "I've gotten better, duh, Hiei! I bet I could even take you on now!"

"Hn. I doubt it."

Ki-Rokey threw her hands up in frustration. The red card went flying upwards and hit the support beam just above them. There was a slight hiss, then the edge of the beam melted away. It broke free from the wall and fell, just barely missing the team as they leapt to the sides, the other end just barely hanging on above a hanging pathway to a large press box.

"Um…oops?" Ki-Rokey laughed, rubbing the back of her head with her hand. "Didn't mean to do that…"

"Obviously." Luna muttered, annoyed, as the other end of the beam fell and crashed down, getting stuck in the pathway below, so that it was stuck with one end on the ground and the other hanging high above.

"You don't think…anyone's hurt, do you?" Misato asked nervously.

~ * ~ * ~

"Um…Botan? I think we've taken a wrong turn." Keiko muttered, glancing around her.

"What make you think that?" the guide asked, pawing the air like a cat.

"Botan. Look around us." Shizuru opened her arms wide. The hall way was painted black, just like all the ones before them, but this one had peeling paint and no lights but from tinted windows to their left. At least the others had been brightly lit.

"Perhaps we should go back…" Yukina whispered quietly. Finally, Botan relented and they began back down the long, dark tunnel.

All of a sudden they heard a male's voice shouting at them. "Watch it!"

There was a crash, a couple of thumps and a loud breaking sound. Next thing they knew they'd all been thrown on the ground, and there was a support beam about three feet thick stuck through the hallway.

"What…what…?" Keiko exclaimed.

"Jeez." a voice above her and to the left groaned. "Couldn't those idiots have waited 'til the _tournament_ to start wrecking the place?"

"You girls okay?" a deeper voice this time, and the owner hoisted her up by the arm.

"Y-Yeah…we're fine…" Keiko stuttered, looking up.

It was a teenage boy, maybe eighteen years old. He was as tall and muscular, and his skin had a dark tan. His hair was short and messy, dark brown, and he had friendly, dark brown eyes. He was dressed in a torn white shirt, red jacket, and a red jeans with dark brown shoes and a red headband.

The one who had spoken previously was a girl, about 15 and Botan's height, glaring viciously at Shizuru and Keiko but smiling gently as she helped Yukina to her feet. Her hair was long and brown, tied back in a long-slung ponytail that fell down her back in gentle waves, and her eyes were dark blue with an odd kind of purple ring in the middle of it. Her skin was pale and she was wearing a blue outfit very similar to one of Kurama's or Genkai's, with a dark blue tunic tied with a purple sash over a sort of long-sleeve aqua-colored martial arts outfit and slipper-like shoes.

"What happened?" Botan asked as the girl helped her up. "Who…"

"Apparently some of the tournament teams got a little rowdy." the girl muttered. "And our exit's blocked, from the looks of it we're stuck up here."

"I can get down…" Botan muttered, her oar materializing in her hand. "I'll go see if I can get us a little help!"

She as gone before anyone could say no. Shizuru brushed herself off, then looked up at the boy in curiosity. He was about as tall as her brother. "Pardon me if I seam blunt but…who are you people?"

"My name's Kin." the large one smiled. "Kin Suisei. And my friend over there's Anbu Jintai."

"A pleasure." Anbu muttered grumpily, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Is something the matter?" Yukina asked her. "You seam upset."

"Don't mind her." Kin sighed. "Anbu's just not crazy about humans."

"Ahem." Anbu coughed. "Before you tell them our full history, Kin, don't you think it'd be good to figure out a way _out_ of here?"

Kin shrugged, looking out the shattered window and down the smooth steal beam.   
"We could slide down." he suggested. "It's about three stories up, but only about a 75 degree incline. It'd be easy."

"What about us?" Keiko asked. "We certainly can't slide down that thing."

"That's easy." Kin smiled at her. "We'll carry you."

Anbu did a double-take, glaring at her friend in frustration. "Don't rope_ me_ into your rescue mission, Kin!" she snapped. "_You're_ the reason we're stuck up here instead of on the other side!"

"Anbu…" Kin gave a weary sigh. "Come on. You wouldn't have wanted these girls to get killed now, would you?"

"I'm not rescuing humans." Anbu snapped directly in his face.

"You don't have to." Kin raised his hands in defense. "I'll take the human girls, you can take this ice apparition. We'll just get them down and be on our merry way."

Anbu pouted a moment, then nodded her defeat and turned to Yukina, face softening into a smile. "Alright then, are you ready, dear?" she asked sweetly.

"I…guess…" Yukina was a bit surprised when the taller girl picked her up off her feet like a baby and held her easily in both arms. The Koorime gave a soft cry and put her arms around Anbu's neck, who didn't seam to mind at all.

"Now for you two." Kin came up behind Shizuru and Keiko. "Up ya get."

He grabbed both girls around the waist and hoisted them up so that the two were sitting on each arm. Keiko gave a bit of a squeak and clung on tight, while Shizuru merely supported against the boy's arm.

"Ready then?" Kin glanced over to Anbu, who gave her nod of approval before he bounced onto the beam. "Well then…here we go!!"

~ * ~ * ~

"Boys! What in the world are you doing?"

The group looked up in a bit of surprise as Botan touched down next to them. Even Hiei, who had been chewing Ki-Rokey up one side and down the other savagely, stopped and stared at the blue-haired ferry girl.

"Botan?" Misato gulped. "You weren't…up there…where you?"

"As a matter of fact, yes!" the guide was out of breath. "And Keiko, Yukina and Shizuru are still stuck up there with a couple of demons!"

"Demons?" Yusuke gasped.

"Yukina-chan's here?" Ki-Rokey asked.

"Sure, she cheers me on!" Kuwabara exclaimed. "She's not hurt, is she?!"

"No." Botan sighed. "The two demons pushed us out of the way. But the whole lot of them is stuck up there, I don't know how they'll get down…"

"Here we go!"

Eight heads snapped up. Two teenagers were sliding down the beam to them, their smooth-soled shoes slipping easily down the iron pole. The first was a tall boy, Keiko and Shizuru on each shoulder. Behind him was a young girl, holding Yukina like a child. At the end of the banister they leapt off, landing easily with all three girls still safe, if a little flustered.

"There now. That wasn't so bad, was it?" the boy smiled, setting Keiko down first before Shizuru jumped off. "You girls still doin' okay?"

"Y-Yeah." Keiko stuttered, shaking his hand. "T-Thank you."

The girl set Yukina down with a smile, patting the smaller girl on the head. "There you go, little one."

"Thank you very much." Yukina gave a polite bow. Then she caught site of something cowering behind Hiei. "Oh! Ki-Rokey!"

"H-Hi Yukina-chan." the girl fire demon laughed nervously, eyes the two demons. "Anbu…Kin…N-Nice to see you…"

"Don't give me that." Anbu snapped, her voice lowering sharply. "I'd recognize _your_ little trick anywhere, Ki-Rokey. I don't even know why Sayona let you join."

Kin grabbed Ki-Rokey by the collar and lifted the little demon off her feet. She smiled sheepishly in his grip, laughing with the hope of getting off. "We'll be fighting tomorrow, kid, you don't need to wreck where we're sleeping _the whole time._"

"I-I didn't mean too…"

"I'll take it they're on the same team." Kurama muttered, glancing between the tree when a voice suddenly broke through the conversation.

"Ken. Anbu. Ki-Rokey. That's enough."

The group turned. There were two figures approaching, looking very cool and in-charge. The one who had spoken was a boy, looking about 18 years old, with silver hair and bright blue eyes. He was about 5'5", with tanned skin. He was wearing a black shirt and blue jeans, with a bright yellow pendant around his neck. The energy he was giving off was about half that of his companion, a much younger woman who, by the way she held herself, was obviously the leader. She looked about 15, with shoulder-length red hair and glowing blue eyes. She had small silver kitty ears and a thin, cat-like tail sticking out of the top of her head and the back of her clothes like Luna's wolf features. She had one hand in her pocket and seamed very content to let the boy handle this situation.

Kin dropped Ki-Rokey, who landed on her feet thankfully. "I don't see what business it is of your, Rai." Anbu muttered.

"We are a team." the one now reveled as Rai sighed. "Can't we at least act like it?"

"Well, Kurama, you've got the look at Team Sougen you wanted." Yusuke hissed out of the side of his mouth.

The girl's bright blue eyes suddenly snapped to them, then an odd smile crossed her face. She moved smoothly up to the group and surveyed the Urameshi team. "So. You must be the infamous Team Urameshi."

"Yeah." Yusuke took over the talking, stuffing his hands in his pockets like when he faced down street gangs at school. "You've heard of us?"

"Hn." the girl's gaze turned sharply to Misato, who was about a head shorter, though not a lot younger. "From your reputations I was expecting something a little more impressive. Don't tell me that little _human_ girl is a competitor."

"What?!" Misato snapped, eyes flashing dangerously. "You've got a _child _on your team! Who do you think you are?!"

"I'm _not _a child!" Ki-Rokey snapped, but the red-haired girl waved her to be quiet.

She looked Misato straight in the eye with a demonic smile, showing small fangs in her teeth. "The name is Sayona." she growled. "I am the captain of Team Sougen. And…you are?"

"Misato Itoshigo." the blonde girl growled. "Spirit Detective."

"Oh, how impressive." Sayona laughed mockingly. "The little girl's playing gumshoe. How cute."

"Misato…" Luna warned, holding her partner back as tempers flared again.

"How…dare…you…" she growled, eyes flashing. Kurama and Yusuke decided to join in at holding the raging girl back. "I'll show you…you…"

Sayona laughed again, brushing Misato's bangs back with her hand. "Don't worry. I'll deal with you team tomorrow." she turned on her heel and began to leave, teammates at her back, "I hope that it won't be _too_ pathetic."

The Sougen Team disappeared into another hall. Misato let her body go kind of limp. Kurama, Luna and Yusuke let go of her, though she was still fuming. "Does _everyone _at this tournament just wanna piss me off?" she growled under her breath.

"With your temper, it isn't that hard." Luna pointed out, and didn't even flinch when her friend shout her a death glare.

Kurama sighed. "Once again." he muttered. "It seams we have our work cut out for us.

****

GS: _Wow, long chapter. The first match starts tomorrow, Team Urameshi vs. Team Sougen! Ki-Rokey's fighting first, to prove herself, but who's she up against? ^_^ I'm not telling…The next chapter will let you find out!_


	4. Fight In The Forest Begins

__

^_^ I found the hard part about working with other people's characters in the last chapter. Apparently I got Ki-Rokey right on the bat, but since I only gave a small hint of Rai and Sayona I didn't quite get all of it. It'll show up better in these next few chapters, during their teammate's bouts. And forget anything you've heard about Kuwabara not fighting girls. It makes this story way to hard to write.

As a note, if you know Japanese, your team name gives a hint to what field you'll be fighting on. For those of you who just hopped the bandwagon and don't know what a field is…well, you'll see. ^_^ Also, if you've forgotten what character you submitted…so have I. I just have the character bios printed out here, without the creator's names. Oops.

****

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the official YYH characters, nor do I own Ki-Rokey, Rai or Sayona, whom belong to their various owners. And once again, I do not own Sad. Sad owns Sad. However, Misato, Luna, Kin and Anbu all belong to me, so please don't use them.

P.S. - You can really tell I'm from the south, can't you? My writing has such a kansai accent. -_-'…

****

The Tomuraigassen Tournament

Chapter 4: Fight in the Forest Begins

"Ladies and gentlemen, we apologize for the delay! But now, without further ado, I'm proud to begin the first match of the Tomuraigassen Tournament!"

"Here we go." Misato sighed, standing from her chair.

She and the rest of the Urameshi Team were waiting in a small team room just inside the tournament stadium. Said stadium was over a mile long on each side, and they could hear the ugly clamor of the apparition's shouts and yells above and around them. But none of them had even caught a glimpse of the ring.

"Now for the first match-up of Round 1!" Sad's voice floated over the speakers. "Our first competitors are Team Sougen…" there was a round of applause as their opponents entered the stadium. "Versus Team Urameshi!"

"Here we go." Yusuke muttered as the door opened. The team entered in a very guard-like formation, then gasped at what they saw.

The ring, if you could call it that, was raised five feet off the ground just like the one at the Dark Tournament had been. But it was about twice as large, at least half a mile squared, and was covered with such a thick mess of trees that the only reason they could see their opposing team was on large screens over the middle of the ring, and each side of the seating areas. There was about fifty feet around the ring that was open for the team members who weren't fighting to wait.

"What the…?" Kuwabara gasped. His and his teammate's looks of surprise was multiplied on one half of the many screens around the stadium. The other half showed Team Sougen, most of whom had their mouths open in identical shock.

"I see you're all very surprised at the sate of our first ring." heads snapped around. Sad was sitting in a small announcer's booth positioned directly in the middle of the right side of the ring, far enough not to be hit by to much carnage but close enough to get all the action and ring-side commentary. Her microphone was mounted on a headphone set so she could easily hear everything directly from the tournament committee. "Well, if you'll just be patient a moment I'll be happy to explain."

Her calm, unemotional face appeared on screen, the crowd being relatively quiet to hear what she had to say. "You see…" the dark brown eyes opened. "The Tomuraigassen Tournament has its own special twist that puts it above all those other demonic tournament brackets. Each of the four rounds of battle will be fought on four different kinds of fields."

A diagram appeared on the screen, showing tournament lineup chart. This time each row of brackets was highlighted a different color. The first eight were green. Above them, the next four were a dark brown. Above that, the two semifinal matches were colored blue, and then the one final match bracket was gray. Neatly written white kanji listed each color separately as Sad started up again.

"As you can see, the first eight fights of Round 1 will be fought here on the Forest field!" she announced, eyes glowing once again in that annoying little twinkle. "Half a mile of nothing but dense trees, the first problem is to _find_ your one-on-one opponent! Round 2 is based in the Labyrinth field. A battle royale in an almost endless maze, the last team standing wins! The semifinals are on the water field, and I'll just let you use your imagination for that one! And last but not least, the final round is based on a regular, no-tricks, straight fighting arena!"

"Hn." Hiei groaned. "What a waste of time."

"I think it's a rather interesting." Kurama muttered. "These different fields will make it more difficult to decide lineups. One fighter that has an advantage in a straight-forward match may be seriously disadvantaged on a less level playing field. We'll have to make our moves very carefully."

"Now without further ado, let the first match begin!" Sad exclaimed. The screen cleared and two names appeared at the top. "Round 1, one-on-one fighting! A fighter stays in the ring through multiple opponents until they are struck down. Last team with a member able to fight is the winner! Since trees tend to block the fighting view, we'll be watching this round mostly on these screens conveniently set up around the stadium.

"First match up, Team Sougen versus Team Urameshi! Teams, send out your first fighters!"

From somewhere cameras zoomed in on the two teams, showing their conferencing on either side of the huge screens. Before the Urameshi Team could even react Ki-Rokey stepped up.

"I'm going first!" she insisted, tossing her hair back. The rest of her team seamed to have no complaints and the stadium burst into applause.

"Looks likes that's decided." Yusuke muttered. "So what about us?"

"I'll take that little twerp!" Kuwabara insisted, heading for the arena. "This fight is mine!"

"Wait, Kuwabara!" Misato exclaimed. "Let's think about this a…"

Too late. Kuwabara had already scrambled up the side and was already in the ring. The rest of his team sighed. "He's stubborn." Luna noted.

"He's a fool." Hiei sniffed.

"I thought you said Ki-Rokey wasn't a good fighter." Yusuke glanced at the three-eyed fire demon.

"Even she is better than Kuwabara." Hiei growled. "I'd give him five minutes. Tops."

Kurama gave the girls an awkward smile. "He never gives Kuwabara much credit. I'm sure he'll last longer than that. He might even win."

"Even if he does win this round, he will loose eventually." Luna's eyes were trained on the images on-screen, thinking quietly. "And when he does I suggest we use this forest field to our advantage."

"Whattya mean?" Yusuke asked.

"Think about it." Luna put a hand on her hip. "This field is made of trees, good for hiding but not for a straight-forward fighter. But we've got one fighter on this team that'll have a distinct advantage here that could give us a lead."

"Only one?" Hiei asked as Misato's eyes lit up.

"Oh!" she gasped. "That's right! Kurama!"

The fox demon looked rather confused at the thought. Luna just nodded sagely and gave him a sideways glance. "Your specialty is plant weapons, isn't it?" she asked calmly. "They'd get a great power up from the greenery in this forest field. That would be our biggest advantage."

"Before we start planning, why don't we just see how Kuwabara does first." Yusuke nodded up towards the ring. The group very grudgingly turned to look up at it.

The orange-haired fighter was standing just outside of the mass of trees, tense in his usual fighting position. They could see Ki-Rokey on the other side of the screen, hands in the pockets of her sweatshirt and rocking impatiently back and forth, waiting for the ref to start.

"Then it's decided!" Sad announced as two names appeared temporarily on-screen with the fighter's pictures. "The first fight will be Kuwabara versus Ki-Rokey! Fighters ready…Begin!"

Ki-Rokey jumped right in, ready and rarin' to fight. Kuwabara cracked his knuckles. "Stupid trees…" he muttered to himself. "I'll just have to take care of 'em."

He held both hands in front of him, concentrating all his energy. With a shout of "Spirit…Sword!" the orange fire-blade appeared between his fists.

"Ooh." Misato muttered. "He's more than he looks."

"But not much more." Luna growled.

"Go for it, Kuwabara!" Botan cheered from the crowd.

"Don't get killed, bro." Shizuru called down. "Remember that last little kid and don't let your guard down."

Kuwabara charged into the trees, knocking his shoulders and arms and legs against the branches and closed-in trunks. There was barely two feet of space between each plant, not a good thing for the bulky Kuwabara. Ki-Rokey, on the other hand, was using her advantage wonderfully, leaping from branch to branch in the trees as they followed each other's energy.

Kuwabara slid to a stop in more or less the center of the ring, looking wildly around. "That's twerp's here…I know it!" he growled. "Where…where?"

"Up here." came a giggle from behind, and next thing he knew he was flat against a tree, winded as his opponent took to the air again, laughing wildly.

"And Kuwabara is down!" Sad announced over a cheering crowd. "Ki-Rokey's flying kick from the back of the head really knocked him for a loop, but he's stumbling back to his feet as I speak!"

"Can't catch me. Can't catch me." Ki-Rokey taunted, making herself just barely visible to the stumbling Kuwabara. She seamed to be almost as fast as Hiei, or at least Rinku. "How do you expect to win if you can hardly move?"

"Damn this brat…" the fighter cursed. "Damn these trees…"

"Kuwabara's completely overwhelmed!" Sad announced. "With Ki-Rokey's speed and agility through the trees, she's running rings around the larger competitor!"

"Get back here, brat!" Kuwabara suddenly roared, swinging his sword down. Ki-Rokey leapt out of the way, but he kept going and slashed down again and again.

It took a few moments for it to register with everyone at what he was doing. "Amazing!" Sad exclaimed. "It seams that Kuwabara is using his Spirit Sword to cut down the trees around him! Maybe now he'll actually be able to move!"

Already three trees had fallen from their roots around the angered human and he was still working on each one Ki-Rokey jumped too. Luna's eyes narrowed and Misato looked completely confused. "Is he…a genius or an idiot?" she asked pointedly.

"The later." Hiei growled.

"What're you, nuts?!" Ki-Rokey exclaimed. She jumped backwards as the tree she had been in seconds before fell. "This idiot…what is he thinking?!"

"Gotacha!"

Ki-Rokey looked up, just in time to see Kuwabara's two fists, still tight around the Spirit Sword, as they came down together just at the back of her neck. The girl hit the bare ground, bounced once, then crashed into a tree, groaning in pain.

"Now Ki-Rokey's the one who's down!" Sad announced. "Did Kuwabara actually plan to push her back into his range, or is it just a stroke of luck?"

Ki-Rokey stumbled up to her feet. Kuwabara barely gave her a chance to get up before knocking her back again with a kick to the stomach. Ki-Rokey dropped to her knees, groaning in a bit of pain.

"I don't wanna hurt ya too much." Kuwabara muttered down to her. "Now that you're out of the trees, you don't stand a chance. Just stay on the ground, kid, and let someone else take over."

Ki-Rokey stared at the ground a moment, then closed her eyes. "Might as well." she chuckled to herself.

"Hm?" Kuwabara was confused. "That mean you give up?"

"Not a chance, ape." Ki-Rokey stood. "I wasn't planning to use this weapon in the tournament, just 'cause I wanted to be serious. But you're not worth wasting my _real_ special technique, so…"

She reached into the pocket of her sweatshirt and pulled out a something that looked like a little rubber mallet. Hiei raised an eyebrow. "She's still _using_ that thing?"

"You must be kidding!" Kuwabara laughed. "You think that little thing can help you against my Spirit Sword?!"

Ki-Rokey gave a good-natured smirk, then the mallet suddenly flashed with spirit energy. When you could see it again she was holding it in two hands, the wood handle was about two feet long and an inch thick, while the head was almost cartoonishly large, with a diameter of about eight inches.

Sad was as taken aback as the rest of the audience, then regained her composure and started up again. "It seams Ki-Rokey has revealed some kind of…huge mallet…This is like some Saturday morning cartoon!"

Kurama, Yusuke, Misato and Luna blinked in confusion, turning to Hiei for some kind of explanation. "The smaller size is only an illusion." the demon muttered grumpily. "It's so she can carry it with her. There's a switch on the side that removes the spell for the full-sized version."

On the other side of the stadium Rai grinned. "This should be interesting." he laughed good-naturedly. "Once she pulls that out it's hard for anyone to take her seriously…A mistake they'll soon regret."

Ki-Rokey leapt forward before Kuwabara could react and knocked the taller fighter up the side of the head. Kuwabara stumbled back, recomposing himself just before it came down again. This time it was blocked by the glowing Spirit Sword before it could connect.

"And Ki-Rokey continues to swing with her unusual weapon, countering each of Kuwabara's swipes with his sword!" the announcer exclaimed. "This is getting either exciting or ridiculous, I can't tell which!"

You could see an odd glint in Ki-Rokey's eyes as she jumped back, this time farther back into the trees. "Don't think you're getting away that easily!!" Kuwabara raged, plunging after her with the same technique as before.

"He is a buffoon." Luna growled.

"Hn." Hiei glanced over at her. "Finally, someone I can agree with."

"It seams Kuwabara is cutting his way through the trees once again!" Sad announced. "But Ki-Rokey doesn't seam to be bothered at all, she just keeps moving! They're almost at the edge of the ring!"

That seamed to be just what Ki-Rokey wanted to hear. She slid to a stop just before the last tree, then lunged at Kuwabara with her mallet. "Is that the best you can do?!" he roared, blocking with his sword.

Ki-Rokey grinned, pressing her mallet forward into the sword. Using it as leverage, she jumped off the trunk of the tree behind her to position herself just above her opponent, thrusting the palm of her hand into his face.

"Left yourself wide open." she laughed. "Spirit Shot!"

Kuwabara's senses were suddenly thrown for a loop with a blast of light and spirit energy. "And Ki-Rokey knocks Kuwabara away with some kind of…energy blast!"

"Ah, I see." Kurama nodded. "A blast similar to Yusuke's Spirit Gun. Just a little less power, from the looks of it."

But that little power was all Ki-Rokey needed. In a couple of seconds she landed behind the reeling Kuwabara, pulled her mallet back behind her head and struck the fighter in the back with all her might. The boy went flying out, past the last tree, out of the ring and into the stadium wall fifty feet away.

"Ki-Rokey has knocked Kuwabara out of the ring!" Sad announced. "In accordance to tournament rules, I'll begin the count! One…Two…"

"Get up, Kuwabara!" Yusuke yelled. "What the hell are you doing?! Get back in the ring!"

"No good." Luna sighed calmly. "He's out cold."

"Three…Four…Five…"

On the other side of the stadium, Sayona laughed quietly. "Do you still think she's such an offset?" she asked sweetly, looking back at Anbu.

The demon was sitting against the wall, calmly reading a book. She looked up at the team leader's voice. "I suppose." she sneered. "But it really doesn't take much to take down a human, especially a stupid one."

"I suppose you'd know, wouldn't you?" Rai said, turning his eyes to the sky as Kin glared daggers at him.

"Six…Seven…Eight…"

"Kuwabara!" Yusuke was now right next to the other boy. He hoisted him up by his collar and slapped him a few times. "This isn't the time, you idiot, wake up!"

"Nine…" Sad took a deep breath before swinging her arm down for the final count. "Ten! Ki-Rokey wins the match by a ring-out!"

The board flashed to a chart. Kuwabara's picture darkened, an X appeared under the Team Urameshi name, while and O popped up under the Team Sougen label, still displaying a smiling Ki-Rokey.

"Well, he lasted longer than you thought, Hiei." Misato shrugged, then glanced at the red-haired demon next to her. "…Guess you better get ready for the fight, then, huh, Kurama?"

"I suppose I must." he shrugged. "It does seam best to press our advantage in this field…"

"Ki-Rokey, please return to the position you began in outside of the trees." Sad announced. "Will the next fighter from Team Urameshi please step up?"

"Good luck." Luna sighed, patting Kurama on the back as he stepped up for the fight. "From the looks of things…You're gonna need it."

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So. Team Urameshi's lost their first fight against Team Sougen, now Kurama's gonna take his chances against the playfully little Ki-Rokey, who still has a special move yet to unvail. I swear, the mallet may just be how I interpreted her form, but that's what I got out of it. And that was easily the hardest fight I've ever written. (I hate writing for Kuwabara. This was just an excuse to get him out of the next fight.) Ch. 5 should show up very soon.

Shameless self-promotion. I'm trying to think up and draw spirit beasts for each of the different YYH characters, posting them on my website. (www.geocities.com/gssigns) But so far I've only thought of Kurama's. A little help, please? Just click on Tsukassa-kitty to find it, and please help me out…please? Ch. 5 will be up ASAP!


	5. KiRokey Plays Her Hand

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Sorry this took so long, guys…School started, and I'm there 'til six for swim practice every night…Gives me about an hour before school and another one and half after…not a bunch of time, particularly with writers block. It doesn't help that official school doesn't end 'til 4:30 now…Excuse me, 4:29_. Big difference…_

A healthy message for all my reviewers…Don't call me Gemini. I hate being called Gemini. It's my pet-peeve. If you need to address me in a shorter manner, call me GS. If you don't believe me on my reaction, go find the chibi-character story "Sign's Big Mistake" (It's in my fav stories list). I've got a part in there. It's fun, 'cause I get to pester Touya and Hiei, but I also wind up pounding Jin, Touya, Yusuke, Kuwabara and Shishiwakamaru when they make the mistake of calling me 'Gemini'. ^_^ Chibis are fun…

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Disclaimer: I don't own any of the original YYH characters, nor do I own Ki-Rokey, Sayona or Rai Don. However, I do own Luna, Misato, Kin, and Anbu.

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The Tomuraigassen Tournament

Chapter 5: Ki-Rokey Plays Her Hand

Ki-Rokey came bouncing out of the trees to her starting point as Sad had instructed. She rocked back on her toes on the edge. "How was that, Sayona?" she laughed. "Even though I _wanted_ to be serious, it didn't take much to get rid of that stupid human."

Sayona nodded. "Not bad, kid." she chuckled. "Not bad at all."

"Don't get too cocky." Kin warned, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his jeans. "I hear this Kurama character's a pretty decent fighter."

Anbu nodded, glancing up from her book at the screen. The attractive red-head stepped up into the ring, standing just out of the trees as Ki-Rokey was. He looked very serious about this match, and would not be easy…

"Attention!" Sad announced. "The second match will be Ki-Rokey vs. Kurama! Fighters ready…? Begin!"

Ki-Rokey leapt back up into the branches of the trees. Kurama, gripping a rose in one hand, stayed on the ground but moved with the same speed and grace, pushing off the trunks and roots.

"It seams Kurama's having a much easier time moving in this forest field than Kuwabara did!" Sad announced. "Does this mean this match will take a turn against the already-battle tired Ki-Rokey?"

"Who's tired?" Ki-Rokey laughed as the red haired fighter stopped just under her branch. "Not me!"

She dropped out of the tree, the same way she'd ambushed Kuwabara the first time. But just as her foot connected with his back Kurama disappeared. Ki-Rokey gasped and tried to stop herself, failed miserably and hit the ground, toppling over on her back.

"It won't be so easy to surprise me." Kurama chuckled, looking down at her from a few feet away.

Ki-Rokey stumbled up to her feet. They were in the semi-clearing Kuwabara had made with his sword. She glanced Kurama up and down, then leapt up into the trees again.

The fox-demon remained where he was, calmly snapping out his Rose Whip. With a quick couple of cracks he'd grabbed Ki-Rokey's leg, and another sent the younger fighter crashing into a tree.

"That's…gorgeous!" Sad gasped. "With a crack of a whip, Kurama sends Ki-Rokey flying! But she refuses to stay down and is back on her feet with a determined look on her face!"

Ki-Rokey and Kurama faced each other down, Kurama calmly staring at his younger opponent with unemotional, green eyes. Ki-Rokey smiled slyly, reaching into the pockets of her sweatshirt.

"Well then…" she laughed. "This is fun, isn't it? Looks like I'll have to use my real weapon now…"

From inside the sweatshirt she pulled a stack of plain, flat card. It was the size and weight of a normal deck of playing cards, like the one Yusuke had in his bag for after-fight entertainment. But instead of plain white with the red or black symbols, each one was solidly a different color, ranging all the different shades in the spectrum.

Luna raised an eyebrow when she saw the card. "How did she get a hold of those?" she muttered quietly, glancing at Hiei, who shrugged.

"What is it?" Misato asked curiously, but before anyone could respond there was a startled scream.

"I'm gonna get you, you stupid kid!" Kuwabara shouted, sitting up suddenly. Misato and Yusuke snapped their heads around, while Luna and Hiei simply glared. "Lemmie at that punk!"

"Kuwabara, you already lost." Yusuke muttered, holding back laughter. "Kurama's fighting her now."

"But…But I wasn't done!" Kuwabara wined.

"Just shut up, you fool." Hiei snapped.

Rai chuckled a bit, watching Ki-Rokey pull out the deck of cards. "This will be interesting…" he smiled. "I wonder which one she'll draw first…"

Kurama did not attack, just watched curiously as the smaller fighter spread the cards out in her hands, examining them carefully. "Well now…" she muttered, picking a dark green one out of the bunch. "If you're gonna use plants, maybe I should too."

Before anyone could think about what she had said, the rest of the deck was slipped back into her pocket and held the one card above her head. Pushing her spirit energy through it, both the fighter and the card flashed with green light.

When it cleared, everyone blinked. Ki-Rokey was now dressed in a forest green short-sleeved T-shirt, over a second, lighter green, long-sleeved one, and dark green jeans. It looked kinda interesting with the same long, black-and-white hair, but something told the fighters this wasn't just a fashion show.

"Well…this is…unexpected…" Sad was slightly taken aback, but quickly recovered. "Ki-Rokey's revealed a strange pack of cards with promise of a strong technique, but what's the use of changing clothes in the middle of a fight?"

"Wise up, lady." Ki-Rokey smirked. "Try this!"

She thrust out her hands, pointing at Kurama. From inside each of the long sleeves of the lower shirt shot two long, spiny vines. The surprised fox demon leapt to the side just before they hit, crashing into the tree behind him, knocking it over.

"Now Ki-Rokey's swinging vines around as well!" Sad announced, eyes sparkling again. "This is getting exciting, folks! Where did she get this new-found powers?"

"I've seen those before…" Luna whispered. "Modification Cards…The clothing is only the outside effects. It equips the user with powers, based on which card is drawn…"

"Fun, isn't it?" Ki-Rokey laughed at Kurama as he stood. "I may not have the control over these the way you do with yours, but I've got a lot more raw power!"

The vines snapped forward again, but this time Kurama was ready. He knocked the four of them away with his whip, then spun around with a crack and caught Ki-Rokey on the hand. The child fighter pulled it back a moment, rubbing it wildly as the red whip-mark began to bleed slowly. Kurama took this time to try and attack again, but Ki-Rokey jumped back and sent her vines flying again.

"It looks like our two competitors are evenly matched!" Sad announced loudly. "With Ki-Rokey and Kurama both swinging vines in this forest field, it's still anyone's game, folks! We're just waiting to see who can hold out longer…wait! Ki-Rokey's caught Kurama on his right shoulder, and it looks brutal!"

Kurama hissed, gripping his shoulder with his free hand. It wasn't too deep, but it was already bleeding heavily. This would set him back, he need a few minutes to heal himself a bit or he'd soon faint from loss of blood.

"Kurama…" Yusuke muttered clinching his fists.

"Is he okay?!" Misato gulped, staring up at the screen. "That wound looks pretty deep…"

"Hn. He's fought with worse wounds than that." Hiei scoffed.

"He _is_ a demon, Misato." Luna said calmly.

"I know that!" Misato snapped. "It's just that…he's bleeding so much…"

Kurama took a deep breath, then jumped back into the trees. Ki-Rokey was a little taken aback at his sudden disappearance. "Aw, come on now." she groaned, chasing after him. "That's no fun!"

"And Kurama has completely disappeared from view!" Sad shouted into the mic. "He's hidden himself in the trees, possibly to recover from his wound…But will Ki-Rokey give him a chance to do so?"

Kurama watched his opponent run past the tree he was hiding in. "That should…buy me a little time." he muttered to himself, leaning back against the trunk as he placed his hands over the wound. He focused his spirit energy, keeping it as low as possible so Ki-Rokey wouldn't sense him. "A couple of minutes…that's all I need."

Ki-Rokey slid to a stop just before the end of the ring, balancing a moment on the edge that the rest of the Sougen team stood by. "Too far, kid." Kin called up.

"Stop playing around." Sayona commanded lightly. "You've got him wounded, it should be easy to take him down now."

"Stop yelling at me and I'll get to it!" Ki-Rokey snapped, turning back to the trees. She focused a moment, but couldn't located Kurama's energy. "Darn it…I'm getting tired of this."

She dug around in her pocket again, this time pulling out a bright red card. The Urameshi Team, still watching on the screen, was reminded of the same one she'd wrecked the hotel's convention room with.

Ki-Rokey lifted it up into the air, pushing her spirit energy into this one too. Both body and card flashed with the bright red light, then cleared up again.

Now Ki-Rokey was wearing a dark red jacket, trimmed with a golden yellow on the collar, cuffs, around the zipper and the fitted bottom. The jacket was over a dark orange shirt, and that over dark red jeans. She had red-and-yellow fingerless gloves on her hands, and now her hair was slightly pulled back with a red ponytail holder.

"And Ki-Rokey's outfit has transformed once again!" Sad announced. "Now garbed in bright red, orange, and yellow, I think we all can guess what's coming next!"

Kurama, still in the midst of healing himself, widened his eyes when he felt the distinct heat waves radiating from his opponent's body. Giving just enough push to stop the bleeding, he jumped to a tree on his left, just as a blast of fire shot through the ring. It burned the one he'd been in down to a stump, making a clear path about two trees wide down the center of the ring.

"I see you there!" Ki-Rokey shouted. She was standing in her newly-created pathway, about five feet from where her opponent had leapt. "No sense running now! There's no where to go, and we don't wanna wreck this whole field-setup thing, now do we?"

Kurama suddenly dropped from the tree, cracking his whip towards Ki-Rokey with all the force he could muster. The little fire demon was taken by surprise and thrown back, a deep gash on her left side.

"And she's down!" Sad announced.

Kurama stepped back, somewhat more relaxed but still ready for anything. Ki-Rokey lay there a moment, slightly stunned. Yusuke breathed a slight sigh of relief. "Is it…over?" Kuwabara asked.

"Since Ki-Rokey hasn't moved for a few moments, I'll begin the count!" Sad announced. "One…Two…Three…"

"Ki-Rokey!" Rai shouted. "Get up, you idiot, get up!"

"Move it, kid!" Sayona yelled.

"Four…Five…Si-"

Sad stopped. Ki-Rokey stumbled up to her feet, holding her side and groaning slightly, but still ready to attack. "That's it…" she muttered quietly. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a match, setting it alight with a flick of her thumb. "I'm not holding back this time!"

She took a deep breath. Kurama instinctively jumped back, cracking his whip forward as she blew the flame as hard as she could. The result was like a flame-thrower, blasting forward in the same huge blast.

It missed Kurama by a couple of inches, but the whip didn't make it out with him. The end half got caught in the blaze and burned. Kurama dropped it as the flame reached his hand, watching as his favorite technique dwindled away into a cinder.

"Those plants may pack a punch." Ki-Rokey laughed. "But that don't mean they're fire-proof!"

Outside the ring, Luna tensed. "This is bad." she muttered. "This takes away our advantage…his only chance now is pure strength…"

"Oh, Kurama…" Botan whispered from the stands.

"Another loss will make it two-to-nothing." Shizuru stated, keeping her emotions, as usual, in check. "Not that my brother helped any…"

"I'm not sure I can watch much more of this…" Keiko gulped. "I can't stand to watch another one get beat up like that!"

Kurama growled a low growl as he backed away from the fire-throwing little fighter. She was balancing a ball of fire on each hand now, each about the size of a softball.

"Wanna play some more?" she asked, eyes sparkling. "How 'bout some catch?!"

She threw the balls at him, and those two were quickly followed by more. Kurama dodged easily, scrambling away from them. Ki-Rokey gave chase, hurling fireballs as fast as she could make them, which left for about a three second interval between each one.

"Well it's easy to see where the tide of this battle has turned!" Sad exclaimed, eyes gleaming with excitement. "Ki-Rokey's got Kurama on the run! With his plant weapons useless, this may very well be the end for this red-haired fox!"

"Come on, Kurama, think of _something_!!" Yusuke shouted, even though he doubted the fox could hear him.

The red-haired demon continued to dodge through the trees, making himself visible for only a split second at a time. Ki-Rokey's fireballs scorched the trunks he ran past, getting closer and closer every time. She turned and twisted around to follow him in what seamed to be an ever-tightening circle around the ring.

Kurama suddenly let out a cry as one of the balls caught him square in the small of the back. He felt the cloth singe and the skin burn as he fell forward and hit the ground.

"And he's down!" Sad announced, eyes gleaming in excitement. "I don't know how hot those fireballs are, folks, but the burn left from last attack looks pretty brutal! I'm not sure if he can even stand up!"

Kurama groaned, leaning on a near-by tree trunk to pull himself to his knees. The wound wasn't too bad…he could still fight, at least…but his head was spinning from the shock of the blow.

Ki-Rokey landed about five feet away from him, looking both excited and perturbed. "I don't like to kill if I can help it." she said quietly. "Just stay down."

Kurama chuckled a bit, despite the pain. "Don't think I'll give up that easily." he smiled his charming, mysterious smile. "Not when I've already won."

"What?!" Ki-Rokey gulped.

Kurama tugged on the vine he had clutched in his fist. Snapping from all directions, shooting out from behind the scorched trees, came long, spiny vines. Before Ki-Rokey could react they had her, wrapping her arms to the side and lifting the small fighter two feet off the ground.

"Now _this_ is a sudden change!" Sad announced, eyes wide. "Kurama has somehow immobilized his opponent in a net of vines! With her arms tied down like that, Ki-Rokey can't summon up her flames, or reach her cards!"

Kurama pulled on the vine again, pushing his spirit energy through it. Ki-Rokey let out a bit of a squawk as the greenery around her tightened, squeezing the air out of her lungs.

"Ki-Rokey…" Kin gulped, staring wide-eyed at his teammate's pained image on the screen.

"Remarkable." Sayona whispered, surprised. "At that speed he managed to thread his vines through the trees… And Ki-Rokey never even noticed."

"We've gotta do…something!" Rai exclaimed. "He's gonna kill her!"

"No he's not." Anbu said calmly, not looking up from her book. "He's just gonna knock him out, that's all." Kin looked a bit relieved, but Rai glared back at her as she settled back into her story.

Kurama watched quietly, until the small fighter stopped struggling. Then he stroked the piece in his hand and the rest of the vines went slack. Ki-Rokey dropped to the ground, limp but still breathing.

"And she's down!" Sad announced. "Since she's _obviously _unconscious, I'll start the count! One…Two…Three…"

Rai glared back at Anbu, who was sitting with a satisfied smirk on her face. "Stupid nigen psychic readings…" he muttered disdainfully, snapping his head back around. Anbu stiffed at the word 'nigen' and Kin shot their teammate death glares.

"Four…Five…Six…"

"Alright! Yeah!" Yusuke and Kuwabara cheered from the sidelines.

Misato shot a sideways glance at her partner. "Not bad, huh, Luna?"

"He still got hurt." Luna noted unemotionally. "But he's a decent fighter none the less."

"Seven…Eight…"

Kurama looked down at his unconscious opponent. "Lucky for you…" he whispered. "I wouldn't kill a fighter with potential like yours so young."

"Nine…" there was a dramatic pause, then Sad yelled, "TEN! And the winner of the match is Kurama!"

The crowd around them started to boo, yelling jeers about demons who helped humans. Kurama ignored all of this, calmly bending down and picking up the unconscious younger fighter.

"What's this?" Sad looked, as Team Sougen did, very confused. "Kurama is actually helping his opponent back to her team!"

Kurama stopped at the edge of the ring, looking down at the remaining members. "Here." he said pointedly, holding out the unconscious fighter. "Take her."

The team blinked at him a moment, surprised. Even Anbu put her book down a moment, eyes wide. Finally, Sayona snapped out of it. "Kin." she snapped, jabbing her head in Ki-Rokey's direction. "You're the healer, you take care of her. Rai, you're up."

The two quickly obeyed. Kin took Ki-Rokey out of Kurama's arms, and Rai climbed into the ring. Kurama turned on his heal and headed back to his side of the ring before the matched started.

"Hey." he stopped at Rai's voice. The silver-haired fighter glared with a determined look, but one that was still as playful as Ki-Rokey's had been. "I can tell that you're more than you look, so I don't want you to hold back this fight. I'll be going for the kill, and I expect the same."

Kurama was silent a moment, then turned back. "Fine." he whispered quietly, then walked through the path of the trees to his starting point for the third match.

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Well well well, this should be interesting…Rai's insisting on a death match, but is he biting off more than he can chew? Or can he really take down the already injured Kurama? You'll just have to tune in next time to find out…And yes, Team Koumajutsu will be appearing again in the next chapter! Ciao for now, people!

*~GS~*


	6. Thundering Warrior

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Well, here we go again…does anyone actually read the stuff I put up here? It's not just disclaimers, you know!

Just a message for everyone who's pestering me to work on my Digimon fics…I'M WORKING ON IT!!!!!!!!! My muse is being weird lately, it's getting harder and harder to write them, but YYH's easier to get inspired with sense I can see it every day. (Or used to…but I've seen it the most recently) So I'm working on it, okay? Hopefully the premiere of Digimon Frontier on ABC Family will re-ignite my Digimon muse.

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Disclaimer: I don't own any of the original YYH characters, nor do I own Rai Don, Sayona, Ki-Rokey, Leigh, Nabooru, or Kaz Pumphry. However, Akki Kaijuu, Kin Suisei, Anbu Jintai, Misato Itoshigo and Luna Mangetsu are all property of me and I'd rather you ask before using them. Now, after this ridiculously long disclaimer, let the battle begin!

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The Tomuraigassen Tournament

Chapter 6: Thundering Warrior

A tall young man with rings on every finger stood at the top of the stadium, arms crossed over his chest as he watched the first match of the Tournament. The red-haired, green-eyes fighter was calmly walking back through the trees of the ring, after facing down his next opponent. These matches were getting interesting.

"Enjoying the view, Kaz?"

The boy jumped, turning back. Akki Kaijuu was the one who had spoken, dark eyes focused on the boy and flanked by a female on each side. On his left, wearing her usual white robe, was Nabooru, faded red hair brushing against her shoulders. On the other was a girl who looked to be 11 years old, with short, amber-colored hair and forest green eyes, dressed mainly in a long purple cape. 

"Just examining the opposition." Kaz said smoothly, turning back to the fight. "The larger human is an idiot, but that Kurama isn't so bad."

"I'll agree on that." Nabooru leaned forward, twisting a piece of hair around her finger, grinning playfully as she eyed the fighter. "Not bad at all…"

"Pull yourself together." Leigh, the amber-haired girl, snapped, glancing at Kaz. "Has Urameshi fought yet?"

"Nope, not yet." Kaz shrugged. "But it's only the third match, anything could happen." He glanced at Kaijuu out of the corner of his eye. "Where's the kid?"

"In the room, sitting quietly and being a good girl." Kaijuu grinned, his voice rising into a mocking tone. "Such a well-behaved little pet."

The others on the team had mixed reactions to their leader's joke. Nabooru laughed heartily at the thought, Leigh glanced away unemotionally, and Kaz just chuckled slowly, turning his eyes back to the screens as profile shots of the two fighters popped up.

"And it's been decided!" Sad announced. "The third match will be Kurama versus Rai Don! Fighters ready.…? Begin!"

Kurama leapt into the trees again, just as fast as before. Rai took to the pathway Ki-Rokey had created, choosing the straight route over bounding off trees. In one hand he clutched a thick-set hunter's bow, and over his shoulder was a smallish-sized sheaf of arrows. The crowd cheered and yelled as the two moved through the trees towards each other.

Kin looked up at the screen as he poured a healing salve into Ki-Rokey's mouth. "Well, Anbu." he said quietly. "Any predictions on the end of this match?"

"He's overconfident." Anbu muttered.

"Who? Kurama?"

"No, Rai!" Anbu sighed, glancing up from her book only a moment. "You heard what he said, didn't you?

"…It's a death match." Kin gave a tired little breath, setting Ki-Rokey down. "So…He's not gonna make it?"

"It's hard to say…You know I can't see _that_ clearly_ this _early in the fight." Anbu was watching the red-haired fox-demon leap through the trees on-screen. Her eyes narrowed as thoughts grew louder. _"What is this guy? He looks and feels like a human, but his attacks and techniques are purely of demon origin. Could he…Did he…no. That's just silly. Why would anyone want to do that?!"_

"And the two fighters are now on even standings in the ring!" Sad's voice boomed over the crowd. "But with Kurama still up in the trees and Rai ground locked, how will the fighting play out?"

Kurama paused a moment, crouched on a long branch just to the right of his opponent. He felt an odd tug at his hair, as though strands of it were being pulled one at a time towards the other fighter, like to a statically charged balloon. _Odd…_

Rai's bright blue eyes suddenly shot to him. Kurama was slightly taken aback, but leapt to the tree behind him before the fired arrow could hit. Rather, it buried itself in the trunk. Kurama winced as he landed on the second branch, between the cut on his shoulder and the burn on his back he was still in a rather lot of pain.

"I can see that it hurts." Rai called up. "Why not get down here so we can get this over with?"

Kurama's fingers ran through his hair a moment, gripping the spare rose seed he kept there. With a rush of spirit energy and a resounding _crack_ the Rose Whip snapped out.

Rai was taken a bit by surprise, but jumped away from the weapon before his opponent landed in front of him. He grinned, though. He'd gotten what he'd wanted, his head-to-head fight. This would be over quickly.

"And the two opponents are ready and standing in a face off!" Sad announced. "With Kurama still battle-wounded and tired from his fight with Ki-Rokey, will he be over-whelmed by whatever Rai has in store?"

"Don't get yourself killed, Kurama!" Yusuke shouted from the sidelines.

Rai pulled an arrow out of his quiver, taking careful aim at the redhead's chest. There was a soft _pang_ as the arrow flew out, flying straight and true at its target.

Kurama simply stepped to the side, a good five inches out of the arrow's range. Rai's grin spread even wider. "What's with this guy?" Misato wondered out loud. "His arrow missed."

Kurama was equally confused, then he noticed the short, crackling little yellow bolts flying on either side of the arrow. Before he could move two of them struck him in the stomach, completely winding him and adding two more round, smoking burns about two inches in diameter and three inches apart.

The force of the blow knocked Kurama onto his back. The fox demon bit his lip until it bled, but still a muffled cry of pain managed to force its way out as his skin burned and the half-healed wound on his shoulder re-opened about halfway. Within seconds it was bleeding freely again.

"Kurama!" Yusuke shouted.

"Come on, get up!" Kuwabara yelled.

Luna's eyes widened slightly and she bit her lip against comment. Misato cupped her hands over her mouth in fear. "Come on, fox…" Hiei muttered under his breath, not wanting the others to hear. "Don't get yourself killed the first round."

"Surprised?" Rai laughed, glaring down at the gravely wounded demon. He brandished another arrow, ready and waiting to shoot out of his bow. The both crackled with electricity. "The Bow and Arrows of Thunder and Lightening. Nice technique, huh? Even if you dodge the first one, the resulting volts are even worse!"

He lowered the bow to look at his suffering opponent almost pityingly. "Don't make this hard on yourself. Just stay down so it won't hurt so much when I kill you."

"I'll begin the count!" Sad yelled. "One…Two…Thr-"

Kurama gripped the trunk of a tree next to him, pulling himself back to his feet. "I'm not…done in yet." he muttered.

With a sudden, unexpected move, Kurama jumped back and disappeared into the tops of the trees. Rai was taken aback, releasing the string and sending the arrow to burry itself in the ground with a lightening-like _crack_.

He leapt back from the resulting electrical shock, running into another body. A hand grabbed him by the shoulder, seemingly to steady him. Rai jumped forward as Kurama's whip snapped at him, knocking the bow out of his hand.

"With a stunning turn, Kurama sends Rai's weapon flying!" Sad exclaimed. "The two fighters are once again at a stand-off! Kurama's still bleeding heavily from his wounds, but facing and unarmed Rai he may still have a chance!" 

Kurama, who had been holding his left hand over the wound to re-heal once again, took a step back, ready for battle. Rai was clam…much, much too calm, as he fingered that golden pendant around his neck. 

The rest of their teams waited with hushed breaths. Misato, Yusuke and Kuwabara were all gulping nervously. Hiei and Luna were calm, but the fire demon was tensing just a bit under his quiet exterior.

"How much longer can he last like that?" Misato gulped, shifting her weight anxiously. "The bleeding's stopped, but…oh lord…"

"Just calm down." Luna told her.

"Yeah…Kurama can pull this off!" Yusuke insisted, the words 'I hope' hanging unspoken in the air.

On the other side of the giant stadium, Sayona was following Rai's image on-screen, tense. "Stop showing off and get the job done, damn it!" she muttered fiercely. "Just kill the guy and get it on!"

Ki-Rokey had regained consciousness just a bit and was now sitting up next to Anbu, who was still buried in her book. "Ya think he can do it?" she asked, either excited or scared or both.

There was a silence, then Kin looked back. "Anbu…?"

"He might be able to." she muttered, not looking up. "Please note that I say 'might'."

Rai fingered the pendant a moment longer, then looked up at Kurama with a smile fit for a mental institution. "I know you don't have the energy left to dodge this." he laughed under his breath.

He lifted the pendent out in front of him, holding it parallel to the ground. Kurama tensed, taking a step back. The whole crowd was in a hush and the only noise was wind before Rai snapped his head up.

"Pendant Dragon!" he yelled in a commanding voice.

The pendant seamed to split in half with a beam of light, then lifted apart as though on a hinge. There was a resounding roar and a flash of lightening, blinding light for a split second, and then…

Bursting from the inside of the pendant came a raging gold dragon made purely out of electricity. The air around it cracked and its roar sounded like thunder as it crash out, eyes glowing a vicious red.

Luna's eyes widened. "A Thunder Dragon…from the pendant?" she gasped.

Hiei tensed, his right arm reaching for his kantana. "Kurama, move!" Yusuke shouted. 

The fox demon barely had a chance to suck in a surprised gasp before the demon was on him. It crashed into its target with a raging cry, the electricity sparking around him and charring the opponent's flesh. Kurama couldn't hold back a cry of pain as he was thrown, head-first, into the tree behind him, which immediately splintered from the impact and fell to the ground. 

"Tell me I'm not the only one to see that!" Sad gasped. "From Rai's pendant comes a raging thunder-dragon! Kurama's been knocked out of sight, but I honestly don't see how he could have survived an attack like that!"

"Easy. He couldn't." Rai snickered, picking his discarded bow from the ground. "Most demons at their full strength can't live through that, he didn't have a snowball's chance in hell."

Luna's eyes remained clam, yet concerned. Misato's hands were clapped over her mouth. Yusuke and Kuwabara both looked ready to leap in and slaughter the guy, but neither would have made it in before Hiei, who's hand was tense over the hilt of his katana.

Kin looked about halfway between cheering and growling, but Ki-Rokey was cheering wildly. Sayona smiled quietly to herself, but muttered something about not cheering until you see the body. Anbu sighed, still reading her book. "Three…Two… One…"

Rai suddenly stopped, eyes widening as he turned back. A slight gasp rippled through the crowd as the red-haired fighter stumbled out of the smoke. He was clutching the wound on his shoulder, gasping from the pain of burns and gashes and only barely leaning against a tree.

"Amazing! He's survived!" Sad's eyes sparked once again as the crowd started to boo.

"Hm…" Rai shook his head, threading the bow with an arrow. "You're tougher than I thought. But you won't live through one more blow!"

Kurama smiled as the arrow was raised to point to his chest. Very suddenly, Rai stopped dead still, breath catching in his throat and eyes widening. The weapon was still raised in his hand. "I-I can't move…" he gulped. "H-H-How did you…?"

Misato gasped, mouth falling open in shock. "There's a…vine…growing out of him!" she gulped, pointing at the screen.

"What…?" Yusuke asked, looking the same way. Yes, out of Rai's right shoulder was a vine, at least half a foot long and twisting around his arm, blood running from the wound. A grin of recognition spread across Yusuke's face.

Kurama pulled himself back up to standing, wiping a little blood off his mouth, and crossed to his now-frozen opponent. He ran a hand almost lovingly over the vine protruding from his body. "W-What did you _do _to me?!" Rai gasped.

"I simply implanted the death grass seed in your body." Kurama said silkily. "It's almost fully-grown now. All it needs is one command and it will sprout."

He took a few steps back to judge his opponent's reaction. Rai's eyes were wide with fear, but his voice was calm. "Alright then…" he whispered, half to himself. "I suppose it's my own stupid mistake for insisting on a death match, huh? So…just finish off the deal. I always knew I'd die in battle…"

"Well then…" Kurama turned on his heel and began to walk slowly back to his team's side of the ring. ".…_Die_."

There was a sickening sprouting sound, followed by a thump. Kurama glanced back at the pile of vines and flower he had created in place of the opponent's body.

"…I suppose there must be worse ways to go…" he muttered to himself, then continued back out to the side of the ring to begin his third match.

TBC.

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Well, Kurama's survived two matches, and the score's 2-to-1, but from there it's not looking too good. Not only is he still seriously injured, but next he's up against the enigmatic Anbu, who has more than a few moves of her own! Not to mention a few questions…but what's her problem with humans, anyway?

*By the way…* Just in case anyone's worried…NO I am NOT planning to pair Misato or Luna or anybody else with any of the guys! I don't believe in breaking up the pre-set show relationships (Yusuke will always be with Keiko, Kuwabara and Yukina are the same way…) and, to honestly tell the truth, Misato's too preoccupied with… something else *spoiler has been delete* and Luna's too concerned with her safety to worry to much about the boys. Just to assure you, since a lot of fics pair OCs with Hiei and Kurama in particular, and it just plain bothers me. So none of that here. (Though there might be a little one-sidedness and intimidation) Ch. 7 will be up ASAP.

Ciao for now,

*~GS~*


	7. The Mysterious Psychic's Questions

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Just so you know, this is gonna be a very long fic and it's kind of hard to show the second fight when the first one isn't even over yet! We've still got Anbu, Kin and Sayona to go through here, which makes for three or four chapters, so stick around, give me ideas, and please stop pushing it.

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Disclaimer: I don't own any of the original YYH characters, nor do I own Sayona or Ki-Rokey, or Sad for that matter. However, I own Misato, Luna, Kin, Anbu and all their attacks, special powers, and attitude problems.

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The Tomuraigassen Tournament

Chapter 7: The Mysterious Psychic's Questions

Ki-Rokey stared at the screen a moment, disbelieving. "He…He killed him…" she whispered in shock. "Rai…He's…gone…"

Sayona glared at the screen as it changed again, from listing their defeat into the records to the redhead sitting at the opposite end of the ring, nursing his many wounds with some kind of herbal remedy.

"Rai…" she growled, clutching her fists together in front of her. Glowing blue eyes glared towards the ring. "I don't forgive the deaths of my teammates! I'll blow him…"

"No."

Sayona was cut off by the sound of a book snapping shut. She spun around to face Anbu, who was on her feet and calmly brushing herself off. She handed her book to Kin, who was staring at her in shock, then turned back to the team leader.

"I'll be taking this fight." she said calmly, brushing her bangs back as an odd kind of glow crossed into her eyes.

Sayona raised her eyebrows. "Well, this is a surprise…" she muttered, turning full around. "Why the sudden decision, Anbu? You usually don't fight unless there's a reason."

The younger girl cast her eyes down with a thoughtful smile. "I suppose he's just caught my interest, that's all." she whispered almost flirtingly.

Sayona's eyebrow raised even further, but she retreated back to lean against the wall with a shrug. "Fine then." she sighed. "But don't let your guard down…"

"When do I ever?" Anbu muttered, the climbed into the ring for her match.

~ * ~ * ~

"Hey Kurama…" Yusuke called up. His red-haired teammate looked back a moment. "You sure you don't want one of us to take over for you? I'll jump in there, if you like…"

"No need." Kurama smiled, pulling himself back to his feet. "I can last another round."

"Stop being stubborn, fox." Hiei snapped. "You're hurt, that's obvious, now get down here."

"Just one more round." Kurama's eyes had the look of someone who is enjoying something painful just way too much. "I don't die that easily."

"Your human form will die simply enough if you push it too much." Hiei growled.

Kurama gave a quiet half-grin. "Why Hiei, if I didn't know better, I'd say you were worried about me."

The small half-koorime gave an annoyed _hn_ and turned away, mumbling something about baka kitsunes as his cheeks turned an almost unnoticeable shade of pink. Kurama smiled bit wider, then turned back to the ring.

"Alright then!" Sad shouted, pulling out a pair of teal sunglasses and slid them on. "The next match of the Tomuraigassen Tournament, Kurama vs. Anbu Jintai, begin!"

The two fighters disappeared into the trees, moving almost equally in grace and demeanor. The Urameshi Team watched their friend in apprehension, except for Luna, who had the same calm, almost unemotional expression as Sayona, on the other side. Kin and Ki-Rokey were both confident of their teammate's abilities, but looked nervous at the same time.

In the stands, Botan suddenly jumped to her feet. "That's it, I can't take it anymore!" she exclaimed.

"What do you mean, Botan-san?" Yukina asked, then gasped in surprise as the taller girl pulled her to her feet.

"We're going down there." she insisted, then pulled Keiko up with the other hand. "The boys need more support than we can give them up here."

Shizuru nodded, climbing to her feet. "Okay then. Let's go."

"As you can see, the competitors have almost reached each other in the center of the field!" Sad announced slowly. "Yet neither one has moved in for an attack. What are they thinking down there?"

Kurama appeared in the middle-clearing Kuwabara had made in the first match, only to find Anbu already standing there. She stepped forward a few paces, looking so calm it was frightening.

Anbu reached behind her as well, pulling out a long, slender staff that had been in a thin sheaf over her right shoulder. A quick glance from Kurama deduced it to be made of oak, most likely from a sacred tree grown near a shrine or holy spring, but it had also been fortified by a potion that channeled her own spirit energy through it. He could practically see the weapon's aura.

He grabbed his rose, snapping it out into the Whip. He couldn't afford any games now, not in this match. Anbu raised her staff as though in defense as the spiky, green vine cracked towards her.

Before it even hit her, the attack stopped and veered off-course. Even Kurama couldn't tell why, all of a sudden his whip just went slack, it was as though it'd hit an unbreakable wall. It hadn't even hit the staff.

"Kurama's attack has been deflected!" Sad exclaimed into the mic. Even behind the sunglasses you could see that annoying gleam. "It looks like he's hit a…a…I dunno, a jar or something, around Anbu!"

"It's a force-field, of course." Anbu sighed, holding her staff in both hands. "And don't get any ideas about breaking it. This 'barrier' is simply a concentration of my spirit energy, manipulated by my telekinesis."

"Telekinesis…?" Kurama breathed, genuinely surprised. Hiei, who'd felt it as well, raised an eyebrow. Luna's ears twitched curiously.

Misato glanced at her partner, worry crossing her into her crystal blue eyes. "Luna…Hiei-san…" she said quietly. "Is something wrong?"

"It's impossible…" Hiei muttered.

"This girl is obviously a demon." Luna muttered. "But Telekinetic abilities… 'psychic powers' as they're more often referred to…can only exist in a _human's_ mind."

"Why's that?" Kuwabara asked, as he and Yusuke turned to look onto the conversation.

"Demon brainwaves have too low a frequency." Luna explained. "Telekinesis is, technically, a small concentration of high-frequency brain waves, taking a semi-solid form. It's impossible for a purely demon mind to hold such frequencies."

"So to be able to use that kind of power…" Yusuke began to come to realization. "She'd have to be…"

"Half…human." Kurama nodded in realization. "You're only a half-demon, aren't you?"

Anbu made a bit of a huffing noise, narrowing her multi-colored eyes. "Yes, I'm a half-demon. Got a problem with it?"

"Not really." Kurama gave a slight smile. "Just a slight bit unexpected."

"Hm…" Anbu glanced her opponent over a minute. Then her staff started to ease down, until one end of it was stuck into the ground, secure enough to lean on. "Before we go any further, there's something I want to ask you."

"Ask…?"

"Why…" the half-demon leaned forward. "Would you want to stay the way you are?"

Kurama raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"What in the world is going on here?!" Sad exclaimed, sounding a bit mad. "It looks like they're just talking!! Come on, you two, this is a fight so start _fighting_!!"

Anbu closed her eyes, blocking out the shouts and focusing her mind. "I know what you are, Kurama. A demon…kitsune, more accurately…in a human form." she paused a moment, letting the fox nod in agreement and wonder where this was going. "But, obviously, you've had the chance to change back to being a full demon…and you haven't taken it."

She flipped a rock out of the dirt with her staff, letting it hit a tree several feet away. Then she continued. "Why, though? Why would anybody actually _want_ to stay partially human? Partially…weak?"

Kurama's brow knitted together in thought. There was something wrong with this girl, he could tell, there was something she wasn't saying. "Being human is not always weakness." he muttered, hesitant to reply. "It has proven a strength to me many times."

"I didn't see any strength from it when you got hurt." Anbu's voice was disbelieving. "A fully demon body would barely have bled from that wound Ki-Rokey gave you, and probably would be almost healed from Rai's burns."

Kurama eyed the girl wearily. Anbu shifted her weight, pushing back off her staff to stand on her own. She moved a few steps to the side, tapping her pole against the ground.

"Let me guess." she muttered, voice rising into a mocking tone. "You decided to stick around because some…human…was _so_ kind to you during the years you just couldn't _bare_ to leave."

The fox-demon blinked at the shorter half-psychic, wondering. Anbu laughed. "I didn't need telekinesis to know that. It's written on your face, clear as day."

She tapped the staff against the ground. "I see how it goes. One human does you a favor and you go soft. You completely ignore what they would do if they ever found out who you _really_ are."

"…What are you talking about?" Kurama asked, hand reaching for his seed again.

"If that…_human_…Ever found out you really _were_ a demon, they'd do exactly what they did to me." Anbu's voice grew low, angry. "They'd disown you, cast you out, forget you completely. All because of something you couldn't help."

Kurama took a step back, hand raising to his forehead. Telekinesis and anger never worked out well. Those with the powers under control usually knew how to hide their emotions, but if they got strong enough they could turn into a destructive, disturbing wave-length that, if strong enough, could destroy this whole stadium and the minds everyone in it. Luckily, she wouldn't let it get that strong, but unluckily for Kurama, it had already penetrated his mind and was sending slight convulsions up and down his body, making it hard to stay on his feet.

Anbu glanced over at him, anger already starting to subside. Then she grinned and he realized what she'd done. She'd _made_ herself angry, just so she'd let out this wavelength. The whole time he hadn't realized it, and now he tried desperately to re-align his thoughts before…

With a swift _thwap_, the staff connected with the side of Kurama's head, knocking the red-haired fighter to the ground. He bit his lip against the pain when he landed on his right shoulder.

Anbu locked her bi-colored eyes right on Kurama's forest green ones. The fox demon tried to move his arm to hoist himself up, but a sudden shock slipped through his body.

All at once, every joint in his arm froze up. He stiffened, then tried his leg. Once again the joints locked, keeping the boy from moving at all. He couldn't even take his eyes off hers. The purple and blue seamed to swirl together, faster and faster until he could hardly tell the difference between the two.

"Finally, some action, people! Kurama is on the ground, and he isn't moving!" Sad announced. "Has he been knocked unconscious by Anbu's blow? Or perhaps it was strong enough to break his neck? As he doesn't look quite dead yet, I'll begin the count! One…Two…Three…"

"Get up, Kurama!" Kuwabara shouted.

"What's wrong with him?!" Misato yelled. "Come on, don't lose now!"

"Fox…" Hiei muttered, glaring at the screen. From this angle Kurama's hair covered his face, he couldn't tell if the other demon was in pain or even breathing.

"Four…Five…Six…"

Kurama fought hard, trying desperately to stand back up. But his body refused to answer, it wouldn't obey his every screaming order to stand and attack. He was completely helpless.

"Seven…Eight…"

Anbu stood over her opponent, swirling eyes beginning to slow as the count drew to an end. "I don't kill." she said point-blank. "And I don't like fighting a weakened enemy. I want my opponent to be at full strength."

"Nine…TEN!" Sad shouted. "And by, knock-out, Anbu is the winner!"

Anbu pulled her eyes off Kurama's. The kitsune practically heard the _pop_ as the mind link was broken, but his joints took several minutes to un-do themselves and hinge back into place.

After two minutes he was back enough to undo his tightly-curled hands and let out a soft groan. Yusuke and Kuwabara, who had climbed into the ring, thinking he was unconscious and needed to be pulled to safety, leapt back in surprise. Kurama sat up, groaning again and rubbing the temples of his aching head.

"Kur…Kurama!" Kuwabara gasped.

"You're okay!" Yusuke exclaimed, hoisting the nearly-comatose kitsune to his feet, arm draped over the human's shoulders. "Man, you scared us to death! I thought you were a goner!"

"Nearly was…" Kurama muttered as the two helped him out of the ring.

"Don't worry 'bout it. You took two of 'em done, and Hiei's all riled up for the next fight…"

"I don't think so, Urameshi." Anbu interrupted him. She had turned to leave for her second part of the match, then turned when she heard Yusuke's voice. "I'm not interested in fighting the little demon. I want to fight _you_."

"Me?" Yusuke raised an eyebrow.

"Hold it, Urameshi." Kuwabara snapped. "Why should we listen to her? Let the shrimp take care of it."

Yusuke eyed Anbu a moment, looking her over. For a moment he paused at her two-toned eyes, then gave a bit of a grin. "Sure. Why not?"

Anbu smiled. "Good. I look forward to it."

With that, she turned and disappeared into the trees.

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My, isn't this interesting? The score's 2-2, and Yusuke's taking on Anbu Jintai in the next match. Between demon energy and psychic ablities, wonder what she's got in store for Yusuke now…Ch. 8 will be up ASAP!!


	8. Psychic Explotion

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^_^. I'm glad you guys like it! This has been kinda hard to work out…And don't worry if this seams to be taking a while. The Team Sougen/Team Urameshi battle will have only 3 more fights, in other words, 3 more chapters, including this one. So this fight should be over soon…^_^ Hope you like it! (And please don't leave after you character's team is beat…That's not very nice!)

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Disclaimer: I don't own any of the original YYH characters, nor do I own Ki-Rokey, Sayona, Kaz or Nabooru. However, I do own Anbu, Kin, Misato and Luna. Of course. On with the fight!!

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The Tomuraigassen Tournament

Chapter 8: Psychic Explosion

Ki-Rokey bounced up next to Sayona. "Anbu's doin' pretty good, ain't she?"

The team leader glanced down at her youngest member. "At least she beat him." she nodded. "Shouldn't you be resting, Ki-Rokey?"

The smaller fighter stuck her tongue out. "Nope! Thanks to Kin's healing-wave, I'm better than ever! I'm even ready to fight again, if they'd let me!"

The team's remaining male member climbed to his feet, brushing himself off. His eyes were trained on the screen above the ring, which was currently divided in half. The left half showed Anbu's profile, eyes calmly looking towards the middle of the ring, while the other showed this human…Yusuke Urameshi…confident and ready for a fight on the other side.

Kin shifted his weight nervously as he looked up. Anbu was strong, there was no doubt about that, but still…

"Worried about your little friend, Kin?" Sayona asked coyly, eyes narrowing at him. "Ki-Rokey is right, she is strong…But is she strong enough for Urameshi?"

Kin glared at her, then back at the screen. It was true, and he knew it, Anbu was very strong. Between her psychic abilities and her skills with that oaken _nyjimbo_, she was more than capable of handling herself. But he was still nervous beyond reason. Anbu was his best and oldest friend, not to mention partner, and she'd only been dragged into their tournament because Sayona, a much more recent acquaintance, had remembered his healing skills and come to him looking for teammates.

"Don't give me that look, Kin." Sayona warned. "I gave her the choice, and she said she'd come along. Don't worry so much…she's fine on her own."

Above them, standing above the stands, Kaz was watching the girl with interest as well. "Well well well…" he muttered. "Half-demon, huh?"

"Just like you, ain't she?" Nabooru laughed, leaning over the edge. Leigh had left to go…meditate, or whatever it was she did, and Akki was leaning against the wall, giving his famous cold glare down at the field.

Kaz glared at her. "Hardly." he sneared. "She's mostly human."

"And you're not?" Akki laughed.

The larger boy pulled his left hand back, re-adjusting the two rings he wore there. He was just a slight bit annoyed, not just with Akki making fun of him, but with him doing it even as he kept glancing down in Itoshigo's direction.

"Only with these on…"

"Guys! Guys!"

The group turned a moment. Botan, the one who had shouted, was running up to them with Yukina on her left, and Keiko and Shizuru right behind them. Kurama was sitting against the wall, nursing his own wounds with slow-working herbal remedies. Misato sat cross-legged next to him, watching with interest. Luna was next to her, looking like she might fall asleep, and Hiei was leaning against the wall several feet away, trying to act like he didn't care but secretly glancing in the fox's direction.

"Good heavens, are you all in one piece?" Botan exclaimed, sliding to a stop on the grass.

"Barely." Misato sighed, indicating the redhead she was sitting beside. "Kuwabara came out okay, but Kurama got it pretty rough…"

"I'm fine…" he muttered, but his face didn't match. The ointment he was using stunk and must've burned like heck.

Yukina, who'd been checking Kuwabara's wounds as he gushed over her, moved to kneel by the redhead's side. "Please, Kurama-chan, let me help you." she whispered.

The fox was rather unwilling…it always had bothered him to for anyone but himself to touch his wounds…but Yukina quietly pressed on until he submitted and pulled the tunic and jacket away from his injured shoulder.

Keiko pulled her eyes away from the ice apparition's healing to glance around at the rest of the group. "Um…where's Yusuke?"

"Up there." Luna muttered, ears twitching slightly as she pointed at the ring.

Keiko snapped her head up, looking at Yusuke standing several feet up and many away, facing the center of the ring. "He's…He's going to fight _now_?" 

"The girl insisted on it." Hiei sneared, tapping against the katana's sheaf. His eyes made it obvious just what he thought of _that_.

"Well, fighters are now in their places!" Sad announced, tapping the side of her earphone-mic. "The fifth match of the first round is Yusuke Urameshi versus Anbu Jintai! Begin!"

Both fighters bounded into the trees. Their footing was about equal, and they moved at a quick pace, each eager for the fight to begin. Yusuke's hands were curled into fists, and Anbu's were clutched around her staff, ready for any attack.

"Well, this looks promising!" Sad announced. "Both Anbu and Yusuke look ready for war! This is Anbu's challenge, so it's only to be expected, but what on Earth is going through Urameshi's head?"

Yusuke knew what he was thinking, off course. He was ready for a fight, and this one looked promising. Now if he could just figure out what _she_ was thinking…

He felt a sudden burst of energy and leapt to the side, just as the thin oaken staff the girl had been carrying connected with the tree behind him hard enough to shatter the bark.

Yusuke rolled and was on his feet in an instant, as Anbu twirled her staff, snapping it behind her. She eyed him a moment, then grinned. "Not bad. Your reflexes are half-decent."

"Let's see about yours." Yusuke smirked.

Before Anbu could quite register what he'd said, Yusuke had lunged forward and landed a hard punch to her right cheek. The female half-demon went flying back, hitting a tree and landing, groggily trying to sit back up.

"And Anbu is down!" Sad shouted. "From the looks of it that blow really hurt, but she's already back on her feet!"

The half-demon wiped her lip, glancing at the blood that streaked across the back of her hand. She looked up at him unemotionally. "Keep that up and this could be fun."

Then she vanished.

Yusuke snapped his head around, searching wildly for her energy. But he couldn't feel a thing, she'd hidden herself so well. Sad's eyes were gleaming once again, as she shouted the details out over the crowd.

There was the rustle of leaves, and next thing he knew he'd been decked. He hit the ground, winded, but before he could get his breath back the staff struck again, knocking the air violently from his lungs. Yusuke gasped, groaned and rolled out of the way as fast as he could, right before the staff struck the ground again.

"Yusuke!" Keiko shouted. The girl's rapid-fire strikes were pushing him back against the trees.

Yusuke rolled to his feet and grabbed the bo. Anbu was surprised, barely dodging as the boy attempted to kick her legs out from under her, then yanked the staff from her hands and knocked her off-balance.

She stumbled back, steadying herself against a tree. Yusuke threw the staff into the trees. "There. No more of that." he smirked.

"Dammit…" Anbu muttered, loosing her cool a bit. She stumbled to her feet, glancing around for her staff but finding it nowhere near-by.

"Just you an' me now, kid." Yusuke jumped forward to land another blow, but Anbu was ready. She flipped back on her arms and kicked him in the chest with both legs. The Spirit Detective stumbled back, regaining his composure in seconds.

Anbu was staring at him, hands straight at her sides, eyes locked on his. He stared at her a moment, then started to get dizzy as the purple and blue began to swirl together, faster and faster…

"Damn it, what the hell are you doing?!" he shouted, breaking eye contact and stumbling back. Anbu's hair seamed to be blown back by a gale of wind, and Yusuke felt it rushing past him. "Not this again…"

But it wasn't wind that was pulling at him, it was Anbu's own energy. For a second he felt a bit light-headed, then he was hoisted off the ground and lifted into the air. "H-Hey!! Put me down!"

"Nope." Anbu sounded cheerful enough, though she still seamed to be in a trance. "Sorry."

She lifted her hands, as though giving a command. Yusuke very suddenly rose higher, much high, over the trees of the ring. "Yusuke!" Botan exclaimed, echoed by Keiko once again.

Anbu's hands stopped going up, and very suddenly, so did Yusuke. Then she brought them down, and Yusuke started falling, falling very quickly back towards the ring. And for the love of him, the Spirit Detective couldn't hold back a cry of both pain and fear.

Two feet before hitting the floor of the ring, he stopped dead and started zooming back up. It went like that for quite a while, up and down, up and down, making everybody around them sick to their stomachs just watching it.

"Erg…" Sad grimaced, holding her stomach. "I don't feel so good…Anbu sends Urameshi hurling up and down and.…oh, maybe I shouldn't have said 'hurling'…"

Ki-Rokey stumbled back, dizzy, and hit the ground. Kin stopped watching and held his head, letting out a soft groan. Sayona just kept her eyes trained on the boy, now shooting back into the air.

"That's enough, Anbu." she called. "Finish this."

Anbu watch the boy hover a moment, then shrugged. "Fine." she muttered, and clapped her hands together.

Yusuke felt the mental energy release him with a _snap_. For a moment he floundered in mid-air, then he dropped like a rock. He scrambled a moment, trying to grad a handhold, but soon realized that air wasn't very solid. "Crap…"

"Urameshi!" Kuwabara shouted.

"No, Yusuke!" Keiko shouted.

"I can't watch!" Misato squeaked, hiding her face behind her hands.

"Released from Anbu's psychic grasp, Urameshi is sent plunging to the ground!" Sad's eyes sparkled more than ever, and her lips nearly stretched into a smile…nearly. "Just imagine the wonderful mess he'll make when he finally hits the floor of the ring! Glorious!"

Anbu brushed her hands together, stepping back a bit to avoid the splatter from her victim. It wasn't high enough to kill him…not right away, but he'd probably be in a full-body cast for quite a while.

"Dammit…" Yusuke muttered, looking down. The tree tops were mere meters away. He raised his right thumb and fore-finger, bracing it with his left hand. "There's no way I'm dying like this!"

He aimed at the ground as he passed through the tree-tops. Not a second to loose now…"SPIRIT GUN!"

The bright beam of spirit energy shot out, fighting for dominance with the ground. Anbu was thrown back by the force and heat of it. "What in all the…?!"

"What the hell?!" Sad exclaimed, calm masking falling off for once with her sunglasses against the force of the energy blast. "What _is_ Urameshi doing?! It's something with a lot of power that's…slowing him down…"

The blast ended and Yusuke dropped, on his feet, to the ground. Well, actually to in to the bottom of the crater his Spirit Gun had created. He brushed himself off. "Whoo. Don't want to do that again." he sighed.

Anbu stared at him as he jumped out of the hole. He was covered with scrapes from the trees, and there was one freely-bleeding gash above his right eye, but otherwise he was unharmed. But she shook off her surprise after a moment, smiling.

"Oh, so you _are_ more than you look." she muttered, stretching her shoulders. "Well then…"

She held her hands in front of her, eyes starting to swirl together again. Suddenly, Yusuke was on her. "Don't think I'm letting you pull that again!" he shouted, throwing another hard punch.

Anbu was thrown back, a large red mark appearing on her cheek. She checked for blood, then glared at him. "I'm getting tired of this." she sneared.

"You know what? Me too." Yusuke stretched. "So why don't we end this now?"

"And what do you have in mind?" Anbu brushed her bangs back.

"Gee, I was hoping you'd have an interesting idea." Yusuke rubbed the back of his neck. "All my other opponents have…"

Anbu made a face, thinking. "Nah. Our fighting styles are too different to do the same thing and have it be interesting."

"WHAT IS WITH YOU PEOPLE AND TALKING?!" Sad shouted. "Come on already, FIGHT!!!!"

Anbu tapped her foot against the ground, then her eyes lit up…and not in the dangerous way. "I've got it." she grinned. "I know just how to work this."

"Uh…how?" Yusuke was extremely confused.

"That energy blast you used." Anbu pointed to the crater. "Can you do it again?"

"Well…yeah…" Yusuke glanced at his finger. "But I've only got four shots left."

"You'll only need one." Anbu turned on her heel and started walking back through the clear line Ki-Rokey's flame had made.

"Hey! Where the heck are you going?!" Yusuke shouted. "Aren't you gonna tell me your idea?!"

Anbu turned back a bit, a mischievous look in her eyes. "It's very simple, Urameshi." she smiled. "We start just two trees from the end of the field, and face each other. You use you little…'Spirit Gun'…and I'll fire a blast of my own, at the same time. Whoever's can make it through the other's wins the match. Deal?"

Yusuke blinked at her a moment, then smiled. "Deal." he nodded, then started to the other end of the field.

Even Sad looked confused, the gleam gone from her eyes. "…What…the…hell?" she gasped. "What are those two _doing_?! It looks like…like some kinda old-west shoot-out!"

Misato looked utterly confused and glanced at Botan. "Do his fights _always_ end like this?"

"Somewhere along the same lines, yes." the spirit-guide nodded.

Luna mirrored Misato's looked of amazement, and both girls turned their eyes back towards the ring. "Very strange…" the wolf-demon muttered.

"Very strange, indeed." her partner mirrored.

On the Team Sougen side, Sayona nodded. "This'll be the last blow." she muttered.

Ki-Rokey held her breath in anticipation, but Kin looked down and clenched his hands into fists. "Anbu…" he whispered, knowing the mental link the girl kept up with him let her hear this. "Don't…Don't die…"

Yusuke turned to face the center of the ring. On the other side, he could see Anbu doing the same. He raised his finger, steadying it with the other hand. Anbu lifted both of hers, first putting them together in a praying sign, one that reminded Yusuke of Genkai's meditation. She closed her eyes a moment, focusing her energy, then opened them both, one behind the other, palms facing him.

The wind blew past them in a gentle breeze, seemingly a set up for what was to come. For once the stadium was silent, no one dared to opened their mouths. Everything held still for a moment, and then…

"SPIRIT GUN!" Yusuke shouted, firing his.

"Physical…EXPLOION!" a beam of purple light shot from between the psychic's hands, straight and true.

The two blasts connected almost exactly in the middle of the ring, and let out an exploding noise something along the lines of _SNAAAAAPACRACKCRACKBANG! _Where they connected became a thin beam of white light from the heat and pressure, sparking out with explosive energy.

Then there was a resounding **_KA-RACK!! _**as one beam broke through the other, a flash of light, a cry of pain, and…

Anbu dropped to her knees, hands gripping the grass next to her. She gasped for breath, clothes and hair singed, body shaking with every mouthful of air. She looked up at Yusuke, the purple ring missing from those crystal blue eyes.

"Not…bad…Urameshi…" she gasped. "I…should've known…you'd…win…"

She collapsed, face-down, completely unconscious. A ripple of surprised rage ran through the crowd as Sad stood in her box. "Anbu is down! She's not moving, so…One! Two…Three…"

"Anbu!" Ki-Rokey shouted, bouncing. "Come on, get up! Get up!"

"…Anbu…" Kin whispered, staring at the screen.

"Four…Five…"

"It's over." Kaz muttered.

"Wow, that Urameshi punk is _strong_!" Nabooru gasped. "I can't believe a mere _human_ has so much power!"

Akki raised an eyebrow. "Not bad." he commented. "Not bad at all."

"Six…Seven…Eight…"

Yusuke stared at the unconscious psychic, then nodded. He turned and started back to the end of the field.

"Nine…" Sad paused, then shouted. "TEN! The winner by knock-out is Yusuke Urameshi!"

The crowd of demons started to boo and jeer. A few of them started throwing things into the ring, hoping to hit either of the teams, or even the announcer. "Calm down already!" Sad snapped. "This is no time for a riot!"

"Anbu!" Kin gasped, scrambling into the ring to hoist his friend out.

He picked her up, supporting both her back and her legs. Remarkably, he found as he carried her from the ring, the wounds would heal extremely fast for even a half-demon. Physically, it was just a few scratches and burns, but nothing too serious.

"Just hang on, Anbu…" he muttered, jumping out of the ring.

"……Hey, Kin?"

The larger fighter looked down. The girl's eyes had opened slightly, and she seamed to be smiling. "What?"

"…Be careful against him, okay?" she muttered as he set her down, then fell asleep.

Ki-Rokey ran over, eyes wide. "Oh…is she gonna be okay?"

"Just fine." Kin muttered, standing. Ki-Rokey stared at him as he headed for the ring. "Take care of her, okay, kid?"

"Kin…" the small fighter whispered, then nodded.

Kin pulled off his red jacket, dropping it to the ground next to him. Sayona stopped him before he climbed into the ring. Neither said anything, just locked eyes a moment. Then Sayona nodded, and let Kin climb into the ring.

__

Phew. That's done…Now there's just a couple of chapters left to this battle! Next time, Kin Suisei takes on Yusuke, ready to avenge his partner…girlfriend? Either way, it'll be a good match! ^_^ Come back next time, should be updated within a week or two!

Laterz,

~GS


	9. TriForce Spectrem

__

Kaz…GIVE ME A BREAK!!!! I'll show Team Koumajutsu fighting soon, but I won't reveal everything so quickly. They'll be impressive, yes, but still mysterious, which makes them more…threatening…So give it a rest already, okay?! Sheesh…

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Disclaimer: Sure, I own Yu Yu Hakusho, and every single character in this story. Oh, look! A pig just flew by! And there're thousand dollar bills growing off that tree…

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The Tomuraigassen Tournament

Chapter 9: Tri-Force Spectrum

Yusuke stretched his aching shoulder mussels as he crossed to his side of the ring, rolling his neck sleepily. He reached for the sky, letting out a soft groan, and wiped the blood away from his only freely-bleeding wound, which wasn't bleeding all that freely.

"Yusuke!" Keiko shouted up. "Are you okay?"

"Sure, I'm fine!" the Spirit Detective called down. "It's really not too bad!"

"Don't let your guard down, Yusuke!" Botan warned. "The next fighter is probably even tougher!"

"Right, Botan." Yusuke yawned, stretching again and turning back to the ring. "Don't worry, I'll keep that in mind."

There was a bit of a ring as Sad turned her head-mic on. "It's been decided! The next match, Yusuke Urameshi vs. Kin Suisei will begin shortly!"

Ki-Rokey looked up at Kin as she nursed her teammate's wounds slowly. "Do ya think he can win?"

"No." Sayona said immediately. Ki-Rokey's eyes widened at her, but she continued. "Kin isn't really meant as a great fighter. He's a healer, not much more. He can't win…Not against Urameshi."

"B-But…" Ki-Rokey jumped up. "Why didn't you stop him?!" 

"I couldn't if I wanted to." Sayona sighed. "He's so damn loyal and stubborn, that's not a good combination. He'll get himself killed if it means 'avenging' his fallen partner." she brushed he bangs back, looking at the boy's picture on the screen with an odd kind of hateful respect. "It's stupid, yet honorable."

"But…But…" Ki-Rokey stuttered, but she couldn't figure out a thing to say.

Sad raised her hand, glancing between the two sides of the ring. "Everyone ready?" she held dramatically a moment, then swung her hand down. "Match 6: Yusuke Urameshi versus Kin Suisei, BEGIN!"

This match started just like the ones before it had. Both fighters dove into the ring, each making their own way through the trees. The two were of similar builds, Kin being just a slight bit taller, so it wasn't long until they both came through the trees.

Yusuke glanced at his opponent, rolling his shoulders. "Well." he said slowly. "Are you gonna start, or shall I?"

Kin didn't answer him, but suddenly Yusuke found himself reeling back, the beginnings of a bruise forming on his cheek. Kin was standing where he had been, cracking the knuckles on his right hand.

"I'm not playing games, you ignoramus." he growled. "I'm serious."

Yusuke popped a crick out of his neck, studying the demon a moment. Then he rushed forward and struck a blow of his own. "Who said I was playing?!"

To Yusuke's surprise, Kin didn't even try to dodge. He took the shot, just standing there. He stumbled back a bit from the blow, checked his cheek for blood, then he charged forward.

"Now this is more like it!" Sad exclaimed, hiding the gleam of her eyes with the smooth, teal sunglasses. "Kin and Yusuke are going at each other rapid-boxing style! They're both landing a dozen blows at a time…who's gonna drop first?"

Yusuke slid back from the attack, hissing a bit and wiping some blood from his lip. "This is boring."

"Agreed." Kin brushed his dark brown bangs back. "So maybe I should turn it up just a bit…"

Swiftly, his hands clapped together in front of him in a praying position. His eyes closed as he began to focus his energy, and Yusuke suddenly felt very cold as the sun's heat seamed to evaporate from his skin. "O-Okay…this is weird."

"…This should be interesting…" Sayona muttered.

"What is he doing?" Misato asked, cocking her head to the side.

".……" Hiei and Luna muttered together, eyes locked on the screen. Keiko was equally silent and Kurama was watching apprehensively.

Kin's hands began to weave themselves into intricate signs, symbols and motions, weaving themselves in an intricate pattern so quickly that they appeared as a blur to Yusuke or anyone else watching.

Kin started muttering under his breath. Of the many words that flowed out of his mouth, Yusuke could catch the Makai words for fire, water and lightening.

Suddenly, the dirt-brown eyes flew open. Kin thrust his hands in from of him, fingers spread, thumb and forefingers touching to make a triangle shape. "Tri-Force…" at each corner their appeared a glowing ball, one red, one blue, and one yellow. "…SPECTRUM!"

The three balls zoomed out at once, combining into one tri-colored wave of light. They whirled and twisted around themselves, flying at Yusuke in a striking beam.

It hit Yusuke in the chest, burning a large hole the size of a record into his shirt. In a spilt second, fire burned, ice froze, and electricity shocked the boy all at the same time, then he went flying back and landed in a heap on the ground.

"Did everyone just see that?!" Sad exclaimed, excitedly leaning forward. "Yuusuke is thrown back by a sudden colorful attack from Kin! I see why he calls it a 'spectrum'."

Yusuke managed to pull himself to his feet, leaning on a tree for support. He gave the other boy a small grin. "Not bad." he muttered. "You're stronger than you look…"

Kin 'humph'ed, stretching his shoulders. In truth he was now a bit worried…the Tri-Force Spectrum was the best move he had. If the opponent could survive that, he didn't have a whole lot of a chance.

_"Okay…guess I'll just have to rely on pure strength."_ he thought, and dove into another punch.

Yusuke blocked it with a little difficulty, sliding a few inches back. He kept his eyes locked on Kin, putting Genkai's training to work. The other boy kept coming with multiple rapid-fire blows, most of which Yusuke managed to block, all the while scanning over his body for weaknesses.

He found one, just as the boy struck. He let his feet slip back a few inches with every blow, it was just for a moment, but enough of a weakness for Yusuke to work on.

Truth be told, he liked this guy's attitude, suicidal though it may be. He was vaguely reminded when he plunged into his fights with Hiei, and Goki, and Suzaku, out-matched, just 'cause he had someone to save or something to prove. It was stupid, it was reckless, and it was rather honorable, especially in a demon. This Kin was a pretty decent guy.

But he couldn't let him win this match.

He grinned at Kin, pulling back a moment. "Come on, bud." he waved his hand for the other to attack. "Give me your best shot. It's starting to tickle."

Kin growled at him, diving in for a fast, hard blow. Yusuke let him come, blocking the hit easily and letting his mind slip to street-fighter mode. He grabbed Kin's oncoming arm as his foot slipped back, catching the other boy off-balance and knocking him off his feet.

Though Kin was taller and bulkier than he was, Yusuke was definitely built with a lot more muscle per square inch. He left Kin hanging half a foot off the ground for a split second, then he struck the taller fighter in the gut, pushing a huge amount of his Spirit Energy into his fist.

"Oh, Kin!" Ki-Rokey gasped.

Sayona kept her eyes trained on the screen. Anbu's eyes were open half-way, watching her partner fight. She gave a small, half-hearted chuckle. "You…big idiot…"

Kin's eyes bulged, and a bit of blood flew out of his mouth. He felt, for a split moment, the impact and watched his own reflection in Urameshi's dark brown eyes. Then he was hurled back, past the trees and out the side of ring. He slid a few feet and lay still.

"And Kin is thrown out of the ring!" Sad announced. "And…One! Two! Three!"

"He's lost." Kaz nodded.

"That demon was weak." Nabooru sniffed.

"Four…Five…Six…Seven!"

On the other side of the ring, Botan and Kuwabara were cheering at the top of their lungs. Keiko let out a relieved breath, smiling wearily. Shizuru took a drag on her cigarette in a kind of toast to Yusuke's accomplishment. Hiei and Kurama remained as passive as ever, a bit of satisfaction reflecting in the fox's eyes. Misato gave a bit of a relieved giggle, glancing in Luna's direction. The wolf-demon locked eyes with her partner, and the girl fell into a serious silence.

"Eight…Nine…TEN!" Sad raised her right hand. "And Urameshi wins by a ring-out!"

The crowd let out a string of boos and shouts, but this time restrained from throwing things by the glare that crossed Yusuke's eyes. He crossed through the trees, crouching down to get a good look at Kin.

The other boy stirred a bit, sitting up and rubbing his temples. "Ow…that's smarts…" 

"You put up a pretty good fight, you know that?" Yusuke grinned a stupid, cocky grin. "Not bad, not bad at all…"

"Hmph." Kin sat up, but his face was passive. "I didn't stand a chance. I never did."

"Hey, you realized that." Yusuke shrugged. "You're not a total loser."

Kin eyed him, the realized he was joking and grinned. "Oh well." he slid his hands into his pockets. "I'm not much of a fighter anyway. Now, Sayona…she's another matter. She'll steamroll you."

"Right…" Yusuke grinned, turning back. "I'd like to see her try."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** * * * * ** * * ** * * * 

__

Kinda short…Oh well.

Next chapter, the Sougen Team Leader, Sayona steps into the ring against Yusuke…Or does she? ^_^ I'm being evil…I've got something veeery interesting planned. Heh heh heh…

C ya when I c ya.

~GS


	10. Tiger Eyes and Shooting Stars

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(dressed in red, carrying 2 bags) Okay…if this isn't up by late Thursday night, then it won't be until Sunday or Monday…why? Because I'm on varsity swim team, and we've got a meet on Saturday in ATHENS. (not Greece…Texas) Athens is in East Texas. I live in West Texas. It's an eight-hour drive, so we're leaving on Friday…*sigh* See you on Sunday, then…

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Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize, and even most of the stuff you don't. But I own Misato, Luna, Kaijuu, the Tournament, and all the creativity of being my weird, creative self.

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The Tomuraigassen Tournament

Chapter 10: Tiger Eyes and Shooting Stars

Kin sighed, popping a crick of his neck as he crossed along the ground. Ki-Rokey jumped up and ran back him, eyes wide. "You okay, Kin?"

"I'm fine…" the large boy sighed, glancing to the wall. "How's Anbu doing?"

"She's okay, I think…" Ki-Rokey nodded. "She fell asleep after a while, but all in all, I think she's doing alright."

"That's good…"

"But you're not." Kin grimaced, turning back to face the team leader.

Sayona had her arms crossed over her chest, glowing blue eyes narrowed almost to slits. He sighed, raising his hands in defense. "I know, I know…I screwed up."

"Well, at least you realized it." Sayona brushed her hair back, climbing up into the ring. "Get yourself healed…I'm taking us to the next round.."

~ * ~ * ~

Yusuke yawned, stretching for the ceiling. "Man…I'm gonna need a nap after this one."

"Urameshi."

Yusuke glanced down. Misato was standing just below the ring, arms crossed over her chest, blue eyes glaring seriously. He sat on the edge of the ring so he could hear her better. "What's up?"

"Get down." Yusuke blinked at her a moment, so she motioned with her hand. "You heard me. Get down from there. I'm taking this fight."

"What?! Why?!" Yusuke exclaimed.

"I've got a bone to pick." Misato sighed, climbing up into the ring. "Now get down."

"But I can't leave and come back…" Yuusuke tried to protest.

"You won't have to. This is their last fighter." Misato was looking ahead. "You're already hurt. I've got a better chance of coming out of this than you do. And even if I don't, that little fire-demon seams _more_ than ready to slice through something."

Yusuke glanced back. He was a bit worn out, and Hiei _was_ polishing his blade like he was ready for anything…

"Um, excuse me?" Sad called. "Only one of you can be in the ring at a time. Please make up your minds so we can get started already!"

Yusuke glanced at Misato, then sighed in defeat and climbed down. Sayona raised her eyebrow, then brushed her hair back. "Alright then…"

Sad glanced around, then sighed in agreement. "Okay! The seventh match of Round 1 will be Misato versus Sayona! Fighters ready…BEGIN!"

~ * ~ * ~

"Well well…" Kaijuu grinned, leaning forward. "This should be…interesting."

"Only for you." Kaz muttered, brushing his many-ringed hands together and folding them behind his head. "My money's on the demon. That girl Itoshigo doesn't stand a chance."

"Whattya see in that chick anyway, Akki?" Nabooru twirled a piece of hair around one finger. "She's only a human…"

"Oh come now, have you forgotten our little pet?" Kaijuu snickered, gesturing a hand in the direction of the hotel. "It's all in the family, naturally…"

Misato and Sayona didn't waste any time, and soon both were in the minute clearing-space Kuwabara had made in the very first match. The two eyed each other disdainfully, moving slowly to each side, keeping even distance.

"So…" Sayona finally broke the silence. "You think you can take me, do you, girlie?"

"That's a silly question." Misato smirked. "Of course I do."

Sayona's cat-ears twitched in irritation and her tail flicked. She lunged forward suddenly, claw-like nails flashing in the light. Misato was ready, mussels tense as she slid out of the way.

Sayona's eyes flashed, and she reached into her sleeves to pull out several gold throwing-stars. "Dodge this, human." she sneared, throwing them one-by-one.

Misato took to her heels, running. She was no where near as fast as Hiei, but she was rather speedy for a human. Sayona quickly realized she wouldn't be able to hit the girl at a run like that.

"Man…" Kuwabara blinked. "She's fast."

"Misato seams to be running rings around Sayona!" Sad exclaimed. "But look at the glint in that cat-demon's eyes! She's definitely got a plan!"

Sayona pointed two fingers at the ground just in front of Misato. Flame shot out of them, into a straight line. Misato couldn't stop fast enough and was tripped, her foot singeing a bit through her shoe.

The fire spread from the tips of the line, and then from the tips of those until it formed a box. Before Misato could climb to her feet, bars of fire half and inch thick shot from the two lines, making a cage of fire.

"What the-?!" Yusuke exclaimed.

"What kind of technique is that?" Botan whispered, shocked.

Sayona grinned a bit, brushing back her bangs. "The Pyro Cage." she smirked "As long as I keep my energy focused on that, there's no way you'll escape."

She pulled a throwing star out and threw it through the bars of the cage. Misato grimaced a bit and a long, sharp red cut appeared on her cheek. The throwing-star swerved back like a boomerang, snapping into Sayona's hand.

"And with these, it'll stay that way." she grinned again, about to throw it a second time for a slightly deeper target.

Misato just narrowed her eyes and held up her right hand. Between the pointer and middle fingers was a small, shiny gold marble, and even darker shade than her hair. It glowed a bit, as though there was a light inside it.

Sayona raised and eyebrow, then burst out laughing. "Oh, come on now!" she gasped for breath. "Do you _really_ expect a little thing like _that_ to help you against ME?"

Misato gave her a mischievous smirk. "Actually, yeah."

With that, she shot the small ball out of her hand like one shoots a marble. It bounced on the grassy ground, arching into a curve and stopping at Sayona's feet. It touched her left foot and rolled an inch or so away, then suddenly exploded.

Sayona was thrown back by the force of it, tumbled a moment head-over-heels before managing to land on her feet. She glared forward, realizing that she'd released the energy holding the Pyro Cage in place.

"Surprised, huh?" Misato grinned. "Urameshi's not the only the only one with an ace up his sleeve."

She started tossing one of the small balls up and down in one hand. Every time it came down, it multiplied by 2. "The Starlight Marbles." she smiled, introducing her toys. "Also called the Shooting Star Balls. They may look small and pretty, but, as you can see, they pack quite a punch.

"And…" her grin widened. "They're made of my spirit energy, so I can produce as many as I need."

She hopped a few steps back, jumping from one foot to the other like a boxer. "Try this on for size!" she smirked, planting both feet a moment before jumping, backwards, into the air.

For a moment she spread her fingers apart, showing that there was a gold marble closed between each one. "Starlight…EXPLOTION!" She threw both handfuls at Sayona, one after another.

The eight golden balls crashed into the ground by Sayona's feet. The cat-demon went flying backwards, landing on her hands in a back-handspring. In the space of eight and a half seconds, Misato created one more, and hit Sayona in the small of the back. The last explosion sent the older fighter flying, sending her crashing to the ground.

"Well, this is an interesting turn-about!" Sad announced. "Seams Misato's gained the upper hand, both in offence and defense!"

"Hey, the chick's pretty damn good." Kuwabara let out a low whistle of approval. Yusuke looked impressed as well, and Kurama's eyes had an interested gleam in them. The girls were cheering, and Hiei was hiding any impressions he had with the usual 'Hn.'

Luna gave a small smile, crossing her arms over her chest. After all these years, she just _how_ good Misato was. Wait until they saw _her_ in action…

Sayona pulled herself to hands and knees, growling in distaste. "Why, you little…"

"…'You little' what?" Misato grinned, "Please, continue, it's rather entertaining."

Sayona's growl grew lower. "You won't be so cocky once I'm through with you, girl." she hissed, hair starting to change silver.

Misato blinked, pulling back in surprise. As the crowd watched, Sayona rather quickly transformed into a larger, silver panther with a huge pair of white wings. She let out a roar and soared into the air.

"…Well, this is new." Misato muttered, watching her fly. 

"That's just weird." Yusuke blinked.

"We've never had an opponent turn into an _animal_ before." Botan said off-hand, although that was perfectly obvious.

"Would you look at that!" Sad shielded her eyes against the glare of the sun. "Sayona has just transformed into what seams to be a flying wildcat, and is now soaring over the ring! But…where's the fighting?"

"HEY!" Misato shouted. "Get down here already! I wanna get this over with!"

An odd glint appeared in the silver panther's blue eyes. She pulled her wings in, suddenly dropping like a hawk going for its prey. Before Misato knew what was happening, she'd been struck, the claws digging into her shoulder. Misato was thrown back, rolling on the ground with blood dripping slowly from her wound.

She sat up with a grimace, checking her wound a moment before using a tree to climb to her feet. "Ya think that's gonna stop me?"

The panther, who had landed a few feet away, seamed to smile. For a split moment, Misato glanced at those bright, blue eyes. There was a small flash inside them, and Misato's body stiffened.

"W-Wh-What the…?" Misato gulped, her face being the one thing she could move. "I…I can't move! What did…she do to me?"

"This is an interesting turn of events!" Sad announced, eyes gleaming with excitement. "Misato seams unable to move! She's wide open for any attack Sayona may commence! How cool it that?!"

"How come these announcer-ladies always get a kick outta people being hurt?" Kuwabara muttered off-hand.

"I suppose it must be in the job description." Botan shrugged.

Misato gulped as the tiger turned and seamed to grin viciously at her. Sayona lifted her tail, revealing that there were actually 3 of them, and for some reason, she was pointing them at her opponent.

Then she let out a low growl that sounded almost like words until she realized that they were. "Three Tails!"

The trio of tails sharpened very suddenly, until they were straight and sword-like. The tiger lunged forward, striking with all three of her tails and deliberately missing any truly alarming shots.

Misato bit her lip to hold in a scream as the blades hit some of her more sensitive pressure points. It was impossible, especially in the paralysis, to keep her balance, so she was thrown back several feet and landed flat on her back. She was bleeding from her arms and shoulders, it was staining the torn fabric of her clothes and hiding in the already-stained grass.

To her surprise, she was released from Sayona's spell almost as soon as she hit the ground, her limbs falling limply to the ground. She groaned a bit, her senses spinning from the sudden loss of blood.

"Oh…she looks awful…" Botan whispered breathlessly.

"Hey, Itoshigo, you alive up there?!" Yusuke shouted. "'Cause if you are, you really should get up about now!"

"Shut it, Urameshi." the boy snapped his head around. Luna was leaning against the wall of the stadium, ears twitching and tail swishing in innate irritation. "She doesn't need the support."

"What the hell are you talkin' about?!" Yusuke cried, while Botan, Kuwabara and Keiko looked outraged. Shizuru, Hiei and Kurama watched without saying a word, and Yukina had absolutely no idea what anyone was talking about, so she kept quiet.

"She's your friend, isn't she?!" Kuwabara gaped. "Don't you _care_?!"

"Of course I care, you idiot." Luna snapped, her ears twitching in Kuwabara's direction. She kept her eyes trained on the screen projecting the fighters in the ring. "It's just that we both work better _without_ the annoying chatter in the peanut gallery."

Yusuke and the others were at a loss for words as her ears perked up again. "Besides, look at her. She's far from beat."

With a soft groan, Misato pulled herself to her feet, holding her bleeding shoulder. Sayona's laughter filled the air, reverberating off the stadium. It was the tiger that was laughing, and her speech was rough and almost a hiss, but with Sayona's recognizable voice.

"Well well, you've managed to get to your feet." she said, narrowing her eyes. "Impressive, I must admit, but it appears you're not up to much else."

She raised only one of her tails, sharpening it to a savaged point. "You've made this fun. I'll do you the favor of a quick death."

Misato's glare grew harder, and she raised one hand. Between the index and middle fingers were a single, glowing gold marble. Sayona raised an eyebrow. "That must be all you've got left." she laughed. "But that one little ball isn't gonna help you now!"

She lunged forward, teeth bared and tail ready to strike. Misato switched the ball to her palm and placed her other hand on top. She began to move them against each other in a circular pattern, like flattening out dough.

And flatten it she did. In a few seconds the small marble had formed into a flat disc the size and thickness of a dinner plate. She kicked off the tree, dodging the tiger's attack and rolling on the ground.

She righted herself in a crouch and gripped the disk like a frisbee. The tiger turned back to strike again, and she threw it with what might she had left. _"Starlight Disk!"_

Sayona stopped dead in her tracks as the disk hit. It had turned on its side and collided with the base of her neck. It sliced through the top of it like a buzz saw, then flew into a tree and disappeared.

Sayona dropped to the ground, returning to her normal form, eyes wide and neck all but severed. It don't really want to describe the carnage and raise the rating of this story, so just use your imagination, okay?

Misato looked at her defeated opponent a moment, then turned to leave the ring. She had a limp and was gripping her right shoulder weakly, but her eyes warned away any who might try to carry her out.

Sad never missed a beat. "Obviously, Sayona's not going to be getting up! That means that the seventh match goes to Misato, and the first fight of the Tomuraigassen Tournament goes to Team Urameshi!"

Ki-Rokey looked up at the screen in disbelief. "She…lost." she whispered in shock. "We…_We_ lost…"

"We were going to lose from the beginning." Anbu groaned, pulling herself to her feet. Kin leaned forward and steadied her against his shoulder. "We were obviously out-classed. We're lucky to lose the few that we did. This _was _Sayona-san's idea after all…"

"But…if we were supposed to lose…" Ki-Rokey protested. "_Why didn't you tell us?!_ You see the future, you said you knew…!"

"I see it, I can't change it." Anbu whispered. "Besides…we've had a good time here, haven't we? You got to see your idol again, didn't you?"

"…You're right, I guess…" Ki-Rokey sighed. 

"Of course I am." Anbu smiled at the smaller fighter, then she nodded in the direction of the other side of the ring. "Kin? Let's leave in that direction…there's something I wanna do…"

The crowd was a chorus of boos and jeers as Misato climbed out of the ring. She stumbled a bit on the grass, but Luna was next to her in a second and grabbed her by the shoulders to keep her on her feet.

"…Thanks, Luna-chan…" she whispered, on the verge of passing out. The wolf demon smiled gently, setting her down next to the wall. Yukina rushed over and began her work almost immediately, receiving a grateful smile from her patient.

"That was harsh…" Yusuke gasped. "You're pretty good, Misato."

"Hell, I'm not as strong as you, Urameshi." the girl smiled. "You wouldn't be beat up this bad against an animal, if you're at full strength…I'm just pretty tricky."

"I'll agree to that." Luna grinned, showing pearly white fangs.

Misato closed her eyes a moment, then snapped them open in a piercing glare, fixed on a landing above the spectators on the opposite side. Yusuke raised and eyebrow, the followed her look and an annoyed expression crossed his face as well.

Standing on that landing, grinning down at them, was Akki Kaijuu and the two cronies from before. The larger boy had a sour look on his face, and the woman looked somewhere between surprised and entertained. Kaijuu had that same disturbing grin played across his features.

For a moment the three looked at them, the Kaijuu raised two fingers to his lips. He kissed them, then blew it down in Misato's direction, before turning to leave with his teammates in tow.

Misato let out something that sounded like an angry cat, and Luna growled. Yusuke's glare increased, and he was just ready to spit as the three left.

"Just _wait_ until I get my hands on that guy…" he whispered under his breath.

They were gathering themselves up to leave, there was a new sound of footsteps on the grass. The team turned to find what was left of Team Sougen, coming at them. They stopped a moment and just kind of look at each other.

Anbu, leaning on Kin's shoulder, was the first to speak. "Hey."

"…Hey." Yusuke smiled. "You still alive?"

"Takes more than a street punk to kill us." the girl laughed calmly.

Ki-Rokey jumped from one foot to the other, eyeing Hiei a bit sheepishly. The barely-taller fighter locked his gaze on her, then gave a soft "Hn." of near-approval. Ki-Rokey smiled a wide grin and hopped back next to her teammates.

"It was kinda fun, fightin' you guys." she laughed, doing a back flip just for kicks. "We're gonna hafta do it again sometime, huh?"

Kin nodded in agreement, a gentle, silent one of defeat. Anbu closed her eyes a moment, then opened them again. "One more thing…"

Yusuke raised an eyebrow. "I don't think you know…but the human part of my body is profoundly clairvoyant." Anbu sighed, thinking quietly. "In plain speech, I can see the future…bits of it, anyway."

She lifted her head, smiling at the Urameshi team. "I can already predict a hard battle for all of you…But I do see your journeys ending successfully…I truly believe that."

Yusuke grinned, and the group behind him seamed a bit lighter of heart. Kin glanced down at Anbu, who'd fallen silent, and looked back up at the others with a grin.

"This girl's been my partner for as long as I can remember, and never once have her predictions been wrong. A little off, maybe, but never wrong." he extended his hand to Yusuke. "Good luck, dude. We'll be cheering for ya."

Yusuke grinned, shaking his hand. "Thanks. Good luck yourself."

With that, the two teams parted ways, and the round officially ended.

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~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

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GS: *sopping wet* *blinks* That was…The weirdest trip I've ever been on…My whole swim team was hit on by a gay guy…

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Midori: *shudder* That's creepy, Author-Lady…Get on with it already…

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GS: Er…right. I'm kinda sorry I had to kill Sayona…I liked her. I liked Rai, too, but… that's how it goes, huh? This was a fun team, but now it's over… In the next chapter, we'll get to see how some of Team Koumajutsu fights, along with the introduction of their last…very interesting…member. You'll also get a glimse of Team Takitsubo, Urameshi's new opponent, and some inter-team developments.

How'd you guys like Misato's fighting style? I hope you enjoyed it! Make sure to review!

Ciao,

~GS


	11. Rivals and Partners

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Ei yi yi…Sorry this took so long, guys. Writer's block, you know? Yeah, it sucks…(and besides all that, I left a cliffhanger on my St. Seiya FanFic and the readers are about to kill me…) but I'm over it now! ^_^ Ah…now for a hint of Team Koumajutsu's scary demon powers, and a glimpse at the fighters of Team Takitsubo…

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Disclaimer: I don't own any original YYH characters, but you know who I own and who I don't. I'm too tired to do it now…

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The Tomuraigassen Tournament

Chapter 11: Rivals and Partners

KA-SNAP-SNAP! Plop.

The demon crowd went wild. Kurama's face grew a bit annoyed and Luna frowned, her ears pressed against her head. Apparently the animal's super-sensitive hearing wasn't helping either of them at the moment.

They were standing on a high platform, about middle-way in the crowd. It was the second day of the first round, and they had just watched the tall, burly member of Team Koumajutsu…Kaz…plow his way through three out of their five opponents. Yusuke, Kuwabara, Kurama and Misato had gathered to watch them. Hiei was off training somewhere, and Luna was, although she hadn't said it out loud, only there to keep an eye on Misato.

"He's quite powerful…" Kurama muttered.

"What an amazing display of brutality!" Sad nodded approvingly. "Kaz sliced through the last three opponents like a butcher through a piece of ham!" Actually, that wasn't quite true…although he had used his sword on the first two, the unlucky third had his heart ripped clean from his chest.

"Very nice! Team Aikoto now seams reluctant to stand against him!"

It was true, the remaining two members of the opposite team were quivering in fear. The screen focused a moment on them, then switched to a smirking Akki Kaijuu. The boyish Koumajutsu Team Leader smirked, glancing up in the direction of the Urameshi Team, then motion to Kaz with one hand.

"What's this?" Sad sounded confused and a bit annoyed. "Team Leader Akki Kaijuu is pulling Kaz out of his three-match winning streak!" The burly fighter retreated quietly, his face irritated. "…And he's replacing him with…what the hell?!"

Kaijuu beckoned forward the smallest member of the team, who had been obstructed by the tall red-head. Yusuke heard Misato's breath hitch in her throat as the fighter revealed herself.

She was even smaller than the one that looked to be 11, although she seamed to be at least 12. Her hair was short-cropped and blonde, and her eyes were a startlingly bright purple, settled into a pale-skinned face. She was dressed in a long-sleeved, high-colored black shirt, purple vest with several pockets, and black jeans. She looked to be nothing but a human.

"Kaijuu is replacing Kaz with the youngest participant in this tournament, the human girl Yumi!" Sad announced, still annoyed. "What the hell is he thinking?!"

Misato drew in a sharp breath and leaned back, looking as though she might faint. Yusuke turned, giving her an odd look. "Hey…you okay?"

"F-Fine…" the female detective muttered, keeping her eyes trained on the ring. "I'm…fine…"

Team Aikoto now seamed much more confident. They were both tall and brutish, not unlike Kaz, and were at least twice the size of the little girl, if not three. Now they could have their fun, tearing that child to pieces…

The taller of the two clomped into the ring, grinning widely. You could see the bloodlust in his eyes as he neared the edge of the forest region.

"Alright then…" Sad cleared her throat. "Match 4, Yumi versus Kori-Kuri… Begin!"

Kori-Kuri clawed his way through the trees. The girl walked quietly forward, easily slipping through the brush. They met and faced off a moment, then Kori-Kuri lunged forward, teeth and claws bared. The girl just stood there a moment, looking at the floor. Kaijuu made an odd motion with his right hand.

Yumi ducked under her opponent's lunge and struck him hard in the stomach. The demon fell forward, only to be hurled out of the ring and into the wall by the small girl's roundhouse kick. He crashed practically through the wall and fell to the ground, head hanging limply off to one side and neck snapped.

Yusuke's mouth dropped open and Kuwabara nearly fell off his seat. "You guys saw that, right?!" the orange-haired ruffian cried. "That puny kid beat 'em in under five minutes!"

"It seams that they are not to be taken lightly." Kurama nodded, remaining perfectly calm.

The remaining member of Team Aikoto stumbled back from the ring. "I-I quit!" he cried. "You win…you win!"

He turned on his heels and ran. Kaijuu smiled a cold, cruel smile, lifting his hand with an almost gentle gesture. "Go on, pet. Don't let them get away."

Yumi ran forward on command, leaping off the edge of the ring. She flipped in mid-air, dropped down and landed so that both her feet connected right where his neck attached to his head.

He fell forward, a bit of blood spurting from his mouth, and did not move again. The girl stepped away calmly, and crossed back to the other side. Kaijuu smiled at her as she came to him, patted her on the head, and sent her back to her place. She never said a word the whole time she was there.

For a moment, the crowd was speechless. Then they erupted into a wild roar of excitement and fury.

Sad stood in her announcer's box. "With an overwhelming victory of five matches to none, Team Koumajutsu triumphs over Team Aikoto and advances to the next round!"

"…Damn him…"

Yusuke turned in surprise. Misato had whispered the comment so softly it almost wasn't heard. She was staring down at her lap, clutching her hands into fists on the armrests. Luna glanced over at her, a softened look in her eyes.

Misato stood very suddenly, crossing to leave the stadium. Kurama raised an eyebrow as she passed. "Miss Itoshigo?"

"Hey, Itoshigo!" Kuwabara called. "We're you going?"

Misato didn't reply, just left on her own. Luna let out a sigh, standing herself. "Just leave her be." she sighed. "I'm afraid we still have some…issues to work out…"

~ * ~ * ~

The group gathered in the suite that evening to plan, enjoy themselves and play some cards. Currently, Yusuke, Botan, Keiko, Kuwabara, Shizuru and Yukina were playing a game of Rich Man, Poor Man. Hiei was sitting in the window, being his usual, grumpy self. Kurama hadn't wanted to play that particular game, and Luna was on the girl's balcony, staring out at the beach.

Kurama crossed behind her, looking out where she was. Misato was lying on her back on the sand, staring up at the moon, hands folded behind her head. Luna kept her eyes trained on her partner.

Kurama leaned on the railing next to her, letting out a soft sigh. He glanced at the wolf-demon out of the corner of his eye, noticing the way her ears and tail twitched with worry.

"…She's been out there a long time, hasn't she?" he said calmly.

Luna glanced at him sharply, then gave a tiny nod. Kurama eyed her a moment, looking for any kind of reaction, then let a slight grin crack across his lips. "You care rather deeply about Miss Misato, don't you?"

Luna glared at him good-naturedly, as one animal-spirit to another. "As much as you and that little fire demon." _(1)_

Before their conversation could get any further, there was a knock on the door. Both turned, as did Hiei, as Kuwabara (who was loosing) rose to answer it.

Standing in the hall were two unfamiliar people. The one almost directly in the door was tall, about 5'6", with albino-pale skin and long, shiny black hair. Bright red eyes glowed under the dark bangs, and she was dressed in a black kimono. She was frowning.

The second looked to be around the same age, just a tiny bit taller, with tanned skin. Her hair was fiery red and eyes were a dark amber color. She was dressed in a semi-tight red t-shirt, midnight blue pants and a crystal blue sash on which a light kimono hung. She was smiling, looking very confident.

"Hello, all." she smiled, waving. "Just thought we'd step in and give a nice greeting to our next opponents."

"And…you would be?" Yusuke asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Matzo Amite." the redhead bowed. "And this is Raicho Takitsubo…Leader of _Team_ Takitsubo, your next opponents."

"I see…" Yusuke muttered, a tiny bit annoyed. He'd been winning.

"Hm…" Matzo leaned into the room, looking around. "From the reports of your fight, I _thought_ you'd be pretty impressive. You're a bit disappointing…"

"Hey, what's that mean?!" Kuwabara exclaimed.

"What does it sound like, you idiot?" Hiei rolled his eyes, stepping off the window. "A rather uncreative insult that is made by those with absolutely no perception."

"Well!" Matzo huffed a bit, leaning back. "I just thought we'd giving the warning before hand, just in case you had any grievous sins to confess before you die. Come on, Raicho…"

They disappeared down the hall, pushing past Misato as she made her way back. She glanced around those gathered. "And what was that about?"

"Nothing." Yusuke muttered, shutting the door. "Just our enemies, bearing advice."

"Ah." Misato shrugged, sitting down. "How pleasant."

"It brought up a nice point, though." Kurama leaned over the edge of the couch. "What are we going to do tomorrow? Any special plans?"

"Well…" Botan produced her notebook, where she'd written down the general information to the tournament. "The second-round matches are fought as a five-on-five battle royale, taking place inside of a giant maze. Each of you will be stationed at a different point of the beginning of the fight, as will the other team. The object is to fight past your opponents and get the most fighters out of the maze by the end of the round. First team to get all living members out of the maze, or to systematically eliminate the other team, are the winners."

"So…" she concluded at the end. "Any ideas to give us an advantage?"

"…Put Luna in."

The group turned to stare at Misato's quiet words. She looked up at them seriously, blue eyes shining. "Luna-san's wonderful at long fights, and is faster than a normal human. She'd give us an excellent advantage."

"Um…" Keiko looked up. "But don't you have to take one of you out for her to fight? How would that work?"

"Actually…" Kurama said calmly. "That wouldn't be a bad idea. Just for this round, we substitute Luna for Kuwabara."

"WHAT?!" Kuwabara jumped to his feet. "Why me?!"

"Less maneuverable." Kurama shrugged. "There won't be much room inside that maze, it would be hard for you to get around. And you can't chop through the walls with your Spirit Sword."

"Besides, the next two rounds are much more open." Botan noted. "You'll do better to save you energy for them. Let Luna take over this time."

With a bit of arguing still to be decided, the group retired to their beds, ready for the next day's fights.

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(1) Interpret this conversation however you see fit. I won't harp on it any more.

Well…so the next round starts the Labrinth fights! Is everyone ready for them? I hope so, because they'll be starting in the next few weeks! Please remember to review, and come back next time! ^_^

*~GS~*


	12. Interesting

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^_^ The labyrinth battles! This is the reason I wrote the fields into story in the first place! I've always wanted to do a fight inside of a giant maze…

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Disclaimer: I don't own any of the original YYH characters, or any original characters besides Misato, Luna, Kaijuu and Yumi.

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The Tomuraigassen Tournament

Chapter 12: Interesting…

"Alrighty, people! We're ready to begin the second round of this glorious Tournament!"

It was a new announcer that proclaimed this, a boy. Well, mostly…There were two dark dog ears on the top of his messy, shoulder-length brown hair. His skin was dark, with odd white markings on his cheeks and hands. He was dressed in a dark red, long-sleeved shirt, with an unbuttoned green shirt over it, and dark blue shorts over what appeared to be normal tennis shoes. He was hovering on a small platform above the gigantic maze.

"Welcome to the Tournament, everybody!" he cheered, smiling around at the crowd. "My name's Kokuru, and I'll be doing the commentary for the rest of the matches! However, don't worry, Sad-san's still with us, right?"

The girl waved from her box, keeping her face impartial as she turned on her headset-mike. "That's right, people. The committee decided they wanted some more… 'character'…in the commentary, so I'll be handling the rules as Kokuru takes over the in-match situation. Oh, joy…"

"Now!" Kokuru gestured towards the doors widely. "Let's bring out the teams! On my right, Team Urameshi!"

The doors to the right opened slowly to a chorus of boos. The Urameshi Team, minus Kuwabara but plus Luna, came hovering out on another of the odd, floating platforms. 

"Man, I seriously hate these guys." Misato muttered, wiggling a finger in her ear. "Don't they ever shut up?"

"Only when you kill them." Hiei growled under his breath.

"And on the left…" Kokuru pointed at the other door. "Team Takitsubo!"

The doors opened and the other team came out on their own platform. Matzo and Takitsubo from the night before were there, along with the three other members…a small girl with brown hair and brown eyes, a pale-skinned girl with dark blue eyes and blue-streaked-silver hair, and a tiny little girl with black-undertone-red hair and cat-like, amber eyes.

"The Labyrinth Matches are some of the most complicated and intense fights known to demon kind!" Kokuru announced, tail wagging with excitement. "Allow me to explain all the brilliant details…both teams are split up, as their five members are place at key dead-end points across the labyrinth. There are two exits, located at the very middle point of both of the longer sides. Each member should try to get out of the maze, but once you're out, you can't get back in, so anyone left behind is outta luck! First team to get all their members out of the maze, or to systematically eliminate all the members of the opposing team, will be declared the winners!"

Yusuke sighed, finally pushing off his place leaning against the support bars to the platform. He glanced at his team in nervousness, then looked back at the huge maze. Then he did a double-take.

"Luna, what _is_ that thing?!" he exclaimed.

The wolf demon looked up, a bit annoyed, and Misato raised an eyebrow. "It's a sword, whattya think it is?" the blonde rolled her eyes.

Hiei and Kurama glanced their way in not-quite interest. Luna now head a thick leather strap across her chest from the left shoulder. It held a large sheaf over her back, and inside was a suitably large sword. It was at least five feet long, handle and blade so it was almost as big as Luna herself, and the blade was about six inches thick. It was huge.

"It's so…big…" Yusuke stuttered out.

"I've always used it." Luna said shortly.

"But…I thought we were going for stealth…" Yusuke stuttered. Both girls gave him icy cold looks, and he quickly shut up.

The platform hovered over a wall on the southern end of the maze. "At each stop, one member please get off the platform and enter the maze." Sad instructed from her box.

Luna glanced at the others, then her eyes connected with Misato's. The wolf-demon smirked and jumped off the platform, landing nimbly on her feet.

Out in the stands, the girls and Kuwabara watched with interest. "Looks like Luna's going in first…" Keiko commented.

Kuwabara made a frustrated noise. "I don't see why I couldn't have gone along." he growled under his breath.

His sister whacked him up the side of the head. "They didn't bring you 'cause the chick's got more skill. Stop whining, she can only take your place for one round." she snapped, then took a swig out of her can of beer.

The platform hovered a bit over 800 feet up the eastern wall. Hiei jumped in at this point, landing calmly and waiting for once in his life. Yusuke looked up and noticed that the other platform was dropping their opponents in other spots, but they were hovering close enough to the maze to be unable to tell which route to take.

Another couple of hundred feet dropped Misato off, and then Kurama near-by. For Yusuke they hovered far to the other corner of the maze…they wanted him alone, for reason or another. Maybe just to make it hard on him.

He watched the sky as the hovering machine zipped away. He was tense…and more than a little nervous…all of them were, probably. This fight was all-or-nothing. You'd probably be killed if you were weakened too much…to make sure you never made it to the end. They'd all have to be in top form for this.

"Combatants ready?" Kokuru's voice floated over the stadium, tingling in excitement. "Very well then! Battle Royale: Team Urameshi versus Team Takitsubo… BEGIN!"

~ * ~ * ~

Misato started out at a slow jog. She wanted to get through the maze, but not wear herself out too much before she got to any real fights. She hadn't had to make many decisions starting out…She'd calculated perhaps 600 feet, judging by the tiles on the ring floor and had only need to decide which way once. The rest had been a perfectly straight line. She could hear the roar of the crowd very close on her right, so it took a few moments of thought for her to figure out that she was traveling north, up the east wall of the maze.

"Alright people!" she head Kokuru's voice over the speakers. "It's been twenty-two minutes and thirty-seven seconds since they were sent loose in there, and now it looks like we may finally be getting some real action!"

Misato tensed instinctively. That meant one of their team and one of the Takitsubo members were about to cross each other's paths. And it was even more dangerous that they didn't know who…or where…

A noise suddenly floated to her ears. It was…music. She paused, raising an eyebrow. Yes, quite distinctly, it was music…a very throaty, reedy, deep music, echoing slightly in the halls. It didn't suit Yusuke or Kurama, Luna was an anti-music advocate, and she seriously doubted that that Hiei character used a flute, so that meant…

She stepped quietly to the gap in the wall that signaled a new turn in the maze. She held her breath a moment, wishing herself luck, then slipped in.

She found herself face-to-face with the small brown-haired, brown-eyed girl from Team Takitsubo. She was only barely taller than 5 feet, with tanned skin and her hair pulled into a long braid. She was dressed in a 3/4 length sleeved brown shirt, brown pants, and brown boots that came to her knees. She had a long, brown wooden flute to her lips and was playing the haunting tune.

She stopped, pulling it away with a grin. "Ah…thought that might lure one of you out." she smirked. "But I was expecting someone bigger…"

"Bigger?!" Misato snapped. "Why you…Who do you think you are?!"

"The name's Harumi." she said coyly, "Team Takitsubo's musical wonder."

"Yeah, I noticed." Misato lifted a Starlight Marble into her hand. "Catchy tune. But you think that's gonna help you against me?"

She threw the small, golden ball. Harumi leaped up and to the side, leaving it to explode harmlessly against the wall. Misato followed her with her eyes and threw another one, only to miss and have it go off in mid-air.

"Oooh, look at those fireworks!" Kokuru's voice rang through the stadium. "Misato's certainly showing us why she calls them 'Shooting Star Balls', but the otter demon Harumi is dodging them like children's play-toys!"

Harumi landed neatly behind Misato, very calm. "That technique is very interesting." she said appealingly. "But don't knock my music until you've heard it for real."

Misato turned to face her, as she lifted the flute back to her lips. "Listen now, Miss Itoshigo…to Melody of Misery…"

And she began to play.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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Cliff-hanger. ^_^ Yes, Misato is in trouble. A lot of it, too. She has her weaknesses, after all…

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NEXT TIME: It doesn't take long for one of our more familiar teammates to come to Misato's much-need aid. But against Harumi's Melody of Misery and Tune of Terror, they could both be in more trouble than they can get out of.

See ya next time! Ja ne! 

~*~ GS ~*~


	13. A Concert of Problems

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Sorry it took so long…writer's block.

This chapter has been rather enjoyable. Harumi's tough to write, but really fun…actually, almost all the characters are like that. I love how diverse this is getting…

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Disclaimer: I don't own any original YYH characters, nor do I own Harumi or Sad. But Misato and Luna belong to me, as well as Kokuru.

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The Tomuraigassen Tournament

Chapter 13: A Concert of Problems

Kurama hurried through the maze at a easy-set pace, not quite at a run but not quite walking either, allowing his still-human muscles to adjust to the distance needed. As he had not been attacked, it was obvious that he was not the one Kokuru had announced. But that would mean that…

He slide to a stop, hearing a gentle music over the edge of the wall. But the music was laced with high-pitched cries of pain…cries his advanced hearing quickly deduced as belonging to Misato.

Kokuru's platform hovered just above him, as the dog-like demon shouted into the mic. "The fox-demon Kurama is only a few feet away from where is teammate is being tortured! But with that wall separating the two, there's nothing he can do!"

The kitsune snapped his head around at that. From the pure joy in Kokuru's voice, it was obvious that whatever was happening on the other side would not end well for his friend. Not unless he could do something about it…

Kokuru's tail was wagging with excitement. "Ooh, this is amazing! As we have seen in her earlier matches, Harumi's Melody of Misery has Misato pinned in agony! Woah…wait a sec…" he leaned forward, squinting, then reared back up in surprise. "This is…remarkable! Kurama is actually _climbing _over the wall!"

It was true. The youko-turned-human had created a length of vines, and was using them to systematically scale the wall like a rock-climber. He'd nearly made it to the top after only a few seconds of climbing.

"Hang on…" Kokuru leaned back. "Is that legal? Sad-san?!"

"I'm checking." the calm voice came from the press box. The sound of rustling pages was over the loudspeaker a moment, then the girl returned. "No, Kokuru, there's nothing in the rules about going _over _walls…"

Kurama wasn't listening. He'd reached the top of the wall, and could now clearly see what was happening on the other side.

Misato had been forced to her knees, trying desperately to cover her ears from the devastating tune coming from Harumi's flute. Kurama grimaced as the sound reached his own, extra-sensitive hearing. It felt like it was tearing his brain into shreds…

Harumi was taken by surprise as the flute was knocked from her hands by a sharpened flower, thrown so that it hit the end of the instrument and flung it away from her.

"Who did that?!" she demanded, glaring.

Kurama nimbly leapt down from the wall, coming to help Misato up. "Are you alright?" he asked quietly.

"Yes…yes, thank you." Misato shook her head out and tried to stand, but nearly fell over. "Oooh…I feel like my head's being split open…"

"Things like that can happen." he muttered, keeping his eyes on Harumi. "I've heard of it before. The sound waves from her music are combined with her energy. It creates a kind of sonic wavelength that affects anyone who hears it."

"Smart." Harumi smirked, climbing to her feet. She picked up her flute and twirled it in her hand. "But just knowing what I can do isn't going to help you much in the defense, now is it?"

She lifted the flute back to her lips. "Oh no you don't!" Misato exclaimed, throwing one of her Starlight Marbles at her. The otter demon leapt into the air, flipping to avoid the explosion.

Kurama was swift, he reached back into his hair and pulled out four small seeds. "Here." he tossed two of them to Misato, using his other hand to follow out his own orders. "Put these in your ears. They're _Fukureru Hana_…Makai Puff-Blossoms. When they sprout, they should block out her music."

Misato did as she was told, slipping the small, brown seeds into her ears. Harumi straightened. "You think I'm going to give you time to do that?" she laughed, lifting the flute to her lips. "Not yet, I don't think. It's time you two got a taste of my Tune of Terror…"

And the tune began to play…

****

. . . . . .

"Shuichi…"

Kurama blinked. He did it again, unbelieving of what he saw before him.

A second ago, he'd been looking at a petite little otter-demon, threatening a mysterious sound-based attack and about to make her move. A second ago, he'd been standing next to a blonde, teenage girl, a recently-discovered ally who packed more of a punch that what she looked. A second ago, he was in a life-or-death battle royal inside of a giant maze for the amusement of hundreds of rabid demon sports fans. But he wasn't there anymore.

Instead, he was standing outside of his normal, human home, on the sidewalk that led almost directly to his normal, human school. He was facing his normal, human mother, standing in the doorway of said normal, human home, her graying-black hair tied in a bun and a happy smile on her face. Beside him was his normal, human stepbrother, or he had been standing beside him before taking a run into the house, ducking in behind his stepmother.

Shiori Minamino-Hatanaka smiled at him. "Come inside, Shuichi dear." she said. "It's dinner time. I hope you had a good day at school."

Kurama wavered a moment, slightly confused. "…Ka-san?"

She smiled again. "Of course, dear." she motioned. "Come on in and let's have a nice dinner, okay?"

"Yeah, Nii-san!" Shuichi the younger called. "Let's go! It smells great!"

Kurama hesitated a moment, wondering if he had lost his mind, then began the trip up the front walk.

He stopped suddenly, feeling a pounding in his chest. Something was wrong here…this wasn't right…what was happening?

His mother turned back, Shuichi looking over her shoulder. "Honey?" she called. "Shuichi-kun? Are you alright?"

There was a laughing in the back of his mind…it was familiar, but it couldn't be like that…He didn't want to, he would never…No, no, no…

"Nii-san?" the younger brother came up the walk, looking concerned. "Stop playing around, this isn't funny…"

Kurama looked up, but he was seeing through different eyes. The colors were enhanced and the details were sharpened, he could read every movement with the greatest efficiency. They were the eyes of a hunter…

Shuichi drew back, taking in a gasp. Shiori let out a scream of horror that registered painfully against very sensitive ears. A low, in human growl escaped his throat as he looked up, past white-silver hair, and reached out with clawed hands for his own brother's throat…

_Stop it stop it stop it stop it!! _his mind screamed, but his body wouldn't obey.

He wanted to hunt…humans were so annoying…The mother ran forward and pulled the younger boy back, putting herself between the two of them…Hn…So protective…Get rid of her first…

You can't attack Shiori!! Youko, no!!

_This is a dream._

The thought registered with him quite suddenly. It was a dream, a bad one, a nightmare he'd had once before, just after his first re-transformation into Youko Kurama. His body continued to move forward, claws stretching towards the mother and the young boy, but the details seamed…wrong. His mother looked much younger than she should, and Shuichi's hair was too dark…

_It's just a dream…A trick, an illusion. She's putting this into my head…_

Yes…Yes, there it was! The soft, almost unnoticeable tune, echoing in his ear, as though he was listening to it through a hose. He focused all his senses on the sound, blocking it out, growing the plant and getting rid of it completely.

The colors of the picture began to bleach away, leaving a pale, unfocused, black-and-white imitation that looked rather like a bad old movie.

_It isn't real…It isn't real…IT ISN'T REAL…_

There was a slight shattering sound, and the picture faded away.

Kurama was now standing in the corridor-like hall of the Labyrinth, a tickling sensation in his ears assuring him that his Fukureru Hana had sprouted without taking root, effectively blocking Harumi's music.

The otter demon was still playing her flute, obviously enjoying the results. Misato had small, white-fluff plants curling around her ears, but without real control over plants in her, it hadn't grown to block out the sound completely.

The blonde-haired girl was on her knees, hugging herself and crying. Kurama checked to make sure Harumi's eyes were still closed…which they were…before moving over to put a hand next to Misato's ear.

"Misato…" he urged, pushing his power into the plant. "It's just a dream. Just a nightmare. Calm down…Don't listen to her."

The plants grew more lush, slowly blocking out the signals. Misato muttered something he lip-read as "You…me…" before her eyes cracked open.

She blinked at him, uncomprehending. "Kur…Kurama?"

He nodded, helping her up. "You okay?"

She nodded, the looked to Harumi and motioned to go against her. Kurama nodded in agreement, producing his Rose Whip in an instant, as Misato produced her Starlight Marbles. He held up three fingers and counted down. Three…Two…One…

Harumi looked up, just as the whip came crashing down on her from above. She leapt backwards, barely avoiding it, and got caught in the wake of a Starlight explosion.

She looked up with a growl as the two approached, venomous looks in both their eyes. She picked up her flute again, but realized that the…the _things_ in both their ears were keeping her from using that.

"Dammit all…" she growled under her breath, leaping backwards in an attempt to run for it.

And ran right into a dead-end.

The small otter demon cursed under her breath, spinning back around to face the two approaching members of Team Urameshi. Kurama was more than happy to dispose of her, for the way her song had used his mother's image, and Misato was about ready to spit from her own anger.

"Ready?" Kurama mouthed to his teammate. She nodded, producing more than enough Starlight Marbles to blow the little thing to pieces.

Harumi snatched up her flute and began playing furiously, as though in an act of desperation. And she kept playing until Rose Whip and Starlight Explosion collided at almost the exact same time.

The flute clattered harmlessly to the ground. High above them, Kokuru was nearly hyperventilating from the excitement of the win, and a point rang itself up on the board.

Kurama removed the Fukureru from his ears, causing it to wilt back into a seed at his touch. He did the same to Misato, who caught the seeds as they fell.

"Thanks." she smiled, handing them back to him. "I'd be dead if it weren't for you."

Kurama nodded as though to agree, then suddenly stopped. His body went rigid and his ears gave a very fox-like twitch as he spun around.

"What is it?" Misato asked.

Kurama's green eyes were focused on Harumi's flute. The wind was blowing through it very gently, but there wasn't just those small notes. It was a tune, echoing out and growing louder by the second.

"It's still play?!" the girl exclaimed.

Kurama could feel his arms getting heavy. "We've got to…destroy that thing…" he muttered, not feeling confident at all. "She must've charmed it…to keep…playing…"

"Just hang on!" Misato cried, trying to steady him. Kurama's sensitive animal hearing was affecting him more, but she could already feel the effects of the song drawing her down. "S-So…tired…"

Kurama's energy was gone, he'd already hit the ground. Misato stumbled over to the flute, throwing it into the air. She fired a single Starlight Marble at it, hitting it square in the middle and causing quite a pretty fireworks display.

Then she slide down the wall as the Song of Sleep took hold. Both combatants slumped, unresponsive, out of commission, and completely unawares that they were very tempting targets to the enemies lurking just around the corner…

**__**

TBC…

NEXT TIME: Kurama and Misato have both been put to sleep by Harumi's Song of Sleep! If one of their teammates finds them first, they'll be okay, but if the other team comes along before then…You can probably guess.

Tune in Next Time! Ta-at!

- GS


End file.
